Photo / File
Content brought to you by Fonterra.
With Covid-19 taking hold again in South East Asia, Fonterra has been helping to get nutrition to communities.
In Malaysia the co-op recently collaborated with Yayasan Food Bank, to get proper nutrition to those in need, Fonterra CEO of Asia Pacific Judith Swales said.
"Hospitals and staff, they've been overwhelmed and the unemployed are starting to go hungry," she told The Country Sport Breakfast's Brian Kelly.
"Families want sustainable assistance, not a one-off donation, so we coordinated what we're calling 'Eat Well with Fonterra' and we've created some nutritious recipes that are easy to prepare, they're affordable and they're suitable for the Malaysian palate."
Fonterra also assisted with the weekly delivery of grocery items and the co-op's nutritionist provided balanced eating education.
"It's a bit like the proverb – you can give a man a fish and you can feed him for a day - or you can teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," Swales said.
Listen below:
"Eat Well with Fonterra" was just one example of how the co-op was helping communities in South East Asia.
It was similar to how Fonterra supported communities in New Zealand, Swales said.
"Our nutrition programme "Kickstart Breakfast" and things like donations to New Zealand Food Network."
Meanwhile, Fonterra has been on another kind of mission back home in New Zealand.
The co-op was proud to partner with the Department of Conservation to support Kāpiti Island's first translocation of threatened kōkako in nearly two decades, Swales said.
"Eleven of the birds - they're often called 'grey ghosts' because of their black mask and distinctive colouring - they were gifted in a ceremony, before being released to join the 100 pairs of kōkako already residing on Kāpiti."
Fonterra chose to support the kōkako because its Kāpiti brand had a strong connection with the Kāpiti region, Swales said.
"We wanted to support a significant conservation project in the region which recognises and appreciates the cultural and community significance of Kāpiti island."
The bird population was slowly starting to recover after years of decline and in March they reached the important milestone of 2,000 pairs in the wild.
The translocation was part of a new five-year partnership between Fonterra and the Department of Conservation, Swales said.
It would see around 35 kōkako introduced to the island over the next two years to top-up the numbers and add genetic diversity to the existing population.
"Our partnership will help to ensure the national kōkako population remains strong and viable into the future and it's all part of how we create sustainability over generations."