São Paulo, 2021 – Currently, favela residents across Brazil are experiencing a very critical moment of extreme need. According to research by the Data Favela Institute, in this most critical phase of the pandemic, community residents eat, on average, less than two meals a day. The reason is the lack of money, a consequence of the unemployment rate above 14% — 68% of the inhabitants who were unable to buy food on at least one day in two weeks. Given this scenario, the iFood joined the CUFA (Central Única das Favelas) to donate more than 300 meals a day in the Heliópolis favela.
The donation process impacts the entire iFood ecosystem and creates a virtuous circle that begins with collecting donations from consumers and companies through the application and extends to partner restaurants that were most impacted by the crisis, and can now redirect their capacity to production of balanced, quality meals that feed those who need it most. Finally, the meals are delivered by CUFA, which directs them to families who need them most. The initiative, which runs until April 23, from Monday to Friday, aims to minimize the effects of the pandemic by donating 6,000 meals to residents of the Heliópolis favela.
“We are recognized as the company that 'brings food' to millions of people throughout Brazil, with this, we understand that it is our role to support the most vulnerable population by also taking food to those who need it most. The partnership with CUFA collaborates with our commitment to reducing food insecurity among residents of different communities across the country”, he states Luanna Luna, Social Impact Project Manager at iFood.
“This is a time when the whole of society needs to come together, because hunger doesn’t wait. The partnership between CUFA and IFood shows how together we can make a difference and this initiative will save many lives. The movement of companies like IFood is essential in this period we are living in.”, comments Preto Zezé, National President of CUFA.
Furthermore, iFood launched a meal donation environment in May last year that includes several NGOs in addition to CUFA. Since then, more than 145 thousand meals have been donated to communities across Brazil, distributed in 17 states across the country and totaling more than R$1 million raised.
How to donate
The iFood donation platform is permanent and, whoever wants to contribute, simply open the app, go to the 'Profile' tab, select the “Donations” field and choose one of the partner institutions. You can then choose between the available fixed values. Payment is made via credit or debit card registered in the application, which must be updated. To help CUFA, each ready meal costs R$ 9.00, but customers can choose how much they want to donate.
About iFood
iFood, the leader in online food delivery in Latin America, has 48 million monthly orders. Having been on the market for nine years, the Brazilian company is also present in Colombia. It works together with partners with initiatives that bring together business intelligence and management solutions for the approximately 236 thousand restaurants registered in more than a thousand cities throughout Brazil. iFood has important investors, such as Movile, a global leader in mobile marketplaces, and Just Eat, one of the largest online ordering companies in the world.
Press information: ifood@novapr.com.br.
About CUFA
Present for more than 20 years in Brazilian favelas, Central Única das Favelas (CUFA) promotes activities in the areas of education, leisure, sports, culture and citizenship, using tools such as graffiti, DJ, break, rap, audiovisual, street basketball , literature, among others. Furthermore, it promotes, produces, distributes and disseminates hip hop culture through publications, records, videos, radio programs, shows, competitions, music festivals, cinema, art workshops, exhibitions, debates and seminars. In this way, CUFA promotes social integration and inclusion.
Among the institution's main projects are the Hutúz Rap Festival, the largest hip-hop event in Latin America, LIBRA, the International Street Basketball League, and the Taça das Favelas, the largest football championship between favelas in the world.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, CUFA used its capillarity to connect the favela and the asphalt and alleviate as much as possible the difficulties that favela residents face. Through the Mães da Favela program, the institution delivered basic food baskets, physical and digital, and chips with free internet for 6 months, thus ensuring greater food security and the education of many children, who needed to migrate to online classes.
The benefits are aimed at women in the favelas, who head their homes. Due to its knowledge of these territories, CUFA understood that by supporting these women, it was possible to create a much larger protection network and, as a result, the project reached more than 5.8 million people.
CUFA – Press Office – press@cufa.org.br
Carolina Marciale
11 94133-5847 / carolmarciale@cufa.org.br
Isabella Winckler 11 99837-0017 / bellawinckler@cufa.org.br
