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Heifer International helps pizza brands help world's hungry

Pizza brand customers today have made it clear: The restaurants they patronize must also be strong citizens of the world. The global hunger-fighting organization, Heifer International, has launched a campaign designed to help pizza brands do just that by working to "Take Hunger Off the Menu."

Heifer International helps free children like 10-year-old Khardiata Allassane of Nacara Village in Senegal and their families from hunger. (Photo by Xaume Olleros)

March 10, 2020 by Liz Ellis — Corporate Brand Partnerships Manager, Heifer International

Many agree that the problems of global hunger and poverty can be solved. Non-profit organizations, like Heifer International, have made great strides in recent decades to help millions of people to escape the bonds of poverty. However, as of 2020, a staggering 821 million people still go to bed hungry every night. 

For 75 years, Heifer International has been working to change that, and now the organization is helping pizza brands support this mission. Founded on the belief that everyone deserves a life free from hunger and poverty, Heifer International has worked alongside local farmers around the globe by providing livestock, seeds, honeybees and other resources, as well as training, to help them provide nutritious food for their families and products to sell for income. Heifer's Take Hunger Off the Menu campaign gives community-minded restaurant brands the ability to help us make gains in our mission to end poverty and hunger, while caring for the Earth.

There’s no question that restaurant activity around so-called "cause marketing" and "corporate sustainability" has increasingly become a mandatory component of successful growth-marketing for pizza brands. As an example of this current restaurant brand imperative, the Case Foundation's Milliennial Impact Report released last year contained one response from a millennial, who explained that for those in that age group, cause engagement is "part of who they are and what they expect of one another."

Additionally, 70% of those surveyed said in the report that their purchasing habits can be swayed by the causes their service providers align with. Many millennials and those of many other generations have shown they solidly support efforts to end hunger globally, led by non-profit organizations like Heifer International.

In fact, that Case Foundation research indicates that for millennials, the environment, poverty and food security rank as three of the top 10 most critical problems globally. By partnering with an organization that has so long been committed to solving these problems, your pizza brand engages in a powerful way with its customers and customers-to-be. 

Further, by marketing your brand's commitment to Heifer’s mission, your brand sends out a strong signal about its dedication to social and environmental responsibility, as well as your brand leadership's insight in connecting with the most impactful non-profits working on these issues today. 

And it's worth mentioning here, that with pizza, there is an especially powerful connection to Heifer’s work since just about every pizza – regardless of type – combines dough, cheese, meat and vegetables to make the mouth-watering pies that we all love. Around the world, bread symbolizes nourishment and the breaking of bread reminds us of coming together with loved ones to experience the joy of sharing a great meal. The idea of piling up products that have been produced by Heifer farmers, right on top of this dough-y symbol of life, love and family, encompasses the whole idea of Heifer International's Take Hunger Off the Menu campaign. 

By participating in this campaign, your brand puts out the call to all your customers who've made it plain they want

Five-year-old Miller Lopez Vasquez of Mexico is among those being helped out of hunger by Heifer International. (Photo: Olivier Asseline)

to help solve these problems. What better form of brand engagement than participation in this campaign that calls your customers to come together to enjoy the bounty, while simultaneously sharing with those less fortunate,so that they too can be nourished. It’s as simple as that. 
Joining the Take Hunger Off the Menu campaign is easy. Once you sign up at www.takehungeroffthemenu.org  we will work together to find the campaign design and profile that best suits your needs. Some of the ways we offer to help your brand blend its voice with Heifer International's in support of this cause, include bounce-back coupons, percentages of sales, point of sale donations and more.
In exchange, Heifer International will provide your brand with all the assets, information and resources needed to show the impact your brand is having on ending global hunger. For more information, drop me a line at liz.ellis@heifer.org or visit www.takehungeroffthemenu.org to sign your restaurant up today. 

Editor's note: For all those headed to the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit next week in Atlanta, please stop by Booth 8B to find out more about ways restaurants can get involved with Heifer International's Take Hunger Off the Menu campaign.