Now Andy Lagor, the company’s business development chef, has embarked on what he calls the ‘trip of a lifetime’ to see just how much of a difference these meals are making to the children that need them most.
He said: “I’m so excited to be going to Indonesia tomorrow and working with the World Food Programme to see how we can continue to make a difference.
“The World Food Programme introduced us to the iconic red cup, which shows just how much food children get out there. When I told my customers and colleagues that it costs just 20p to fill that small cup up, it was something they really embraced.
“This is going to be a great opportunity to get to know some of the children we’re helping, meet health and education officers and learn some top Indonesian culinary tips too.
“I’ll be writing everything down in my travel diary, which you can find here, so you can keep up-to-date on what I’m doing and where I’m going.
“Customers and colleagues that have supported the initiative have also given me some questions to answer, so I’ll upload those too.
“There’s so much to see and do, but I’m most looking forward to seeing the money we’ve raised being used in the best way possible.”
By working with customers to put on themed menus, raffles and bake sales to raise money, Unilever Food Solutions has also been successful in helping children in the UK and Ireland understand how privileged they are, while having fun at the same time.
Kevin Walsh, acting head teacher at St Wilfrid’s School, Pontefract, who encouraged his school to fundraise during World Hunger Awareness Week in May, says: “The reason that we wanted to get involved in this project was because we feel that the world’s food problem is important. Anything that makes our children think about how lucky they are is a very good thing.”
As part of Unilever Food Solutions’ partnership with the World Food Programme, it created a toolkit to inspire schools to start fundraising, linking in the key theme of food around key dates such as Hunger Awareness and World Food Day.
Lagor helped developed a variety of international recipes such as Laksa Chicken Curry to emphasise to British children how lucky they are compared to less fortunate pupils.
If you have got a question for Andy Lagor about the World Food Programme and his trip to Indonesia, send it to andrew.Lagor@unilever.com. You are guaranteed an answer.