Nestlé made the largest donation in its history on joining the Zero Hunger Programme, in 2003. Nestlé Brasil President, Ivan F. Zurita, accompanied by Nestlé CEO, Peter Brabeck, communicated Nestlé’s official and pioneering subscription to the programme in January to president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the Planalto Palace. On that occasion, Nestlé made an emergency donation of 1 million kilos of food products to the Zero Hunger Programme: the total weight corresponded to the number of letters Nestlé had received in its promotion “Nestlé e Você” on a TV show called “Show do Milhão”, in the course of 2002. In recognition of its support, the Federal Government granted Nestlé its first Partnership Certificate in the Zero Hunger Programme, a certificate featuring a number one stamp. That occasion was also the starting point to launch the “Nestlé e Você. Junta Brasil” campaign, through which the Company raffled off 248 houses among product consumers, from April to December, 2003. At the end of this campaign an amount equivalent to the price of each house (40 thousand reais) was offered in Nestlé products to charitable institutions. Total donations amounted to 800 thousand kilos of food products. The 1.8 million kilos of Nestlé food products donated on the two occasions above corresponded to 17 million reais.

To actually deliver the food in that emergency to about 45 thousand families spread out in 643 cities (at the Jequitinhonha Valley and the Northeast region, which are regarded as the largest destitute areas in the country), Nestlé established a partnership with the Children’s Pastoral institution (as appointed by the Zero Hunger Programme), one of the most relevant communitarian organizations in the whole world whose work is focused on health, nutrition and infant education.
According to suggestions presented by the Children’s Pastoral, the lot comprising 1 million kilos of food products was shared with “Sociedade São Vicente de Paulo”, known as “Vicentinos,” which conducts follow up, advisory and assistance work to poor families. Product distribution to families was followed by talks about health, nutrition and hygiene, and anthropometric evaluation (weight and height measurements) of children. The 800 thousand kilos of Nestlé food products, with respect to the campaign were delivered directly to the Social Assistance State Secretariat of ten states, which in turn distributed the products to partner social organizations.