We've had a productive year.
Nearly two years have passed since COVID-19 changed how we live, work, and interact with people. For the marginalized communities we serve, the pandemic and lockdown restrictions have pushed families into extreme poverty.
Here at San Miguel Foundation, we had a busy year trying to help make a difference through unique projects and initiatives that have impacted thousands of our employees and communities.
We’ve delivered and developed new projects, all within a challenging context! While we now include COVID-19 testing and quarantine among our normal workload, our focus is still providing emergency food and support to disadvantaged communities nationwide—mainly where our parent, San Miguel Corporation—has set down roots.
This brief impact report is a snapshot of all we’ve achieved in the last year or so, and we hope it gives you insight into the range of services and projects we’ve delivered.
Our progress and impact are possible only with the support of SMC and its subsidiaries and the generosity of our employees, volunteers, partners, and private funders.
We hope you’ll find these achievements inspiring and encouraging as we close this challenging year. Better days are just around the corner, and we’re committed to doing more for as many Filipinos as possible!
Better World Tondo
Better World Tondo is a feeding and learning center . During the pandemic, our help to our community of over 450 families was focused on food security and helping our BWT kids cope despite the very harsh learning environment brought on by the pandemic.
This year we’ve served nearly 71,000 meals and distributed over 11,000 grocery packs . An estimated 82,042 families have benefitted from our continuing program.
In 2021, we curbed the vaccine hesitancy in partnership with Rise Against Hunger and AHA Learning Center. To encourage members to register and get vaccinated, food coupons were given as an incentive which were later on used to purchase from the food bank. As of the moment, 84% of BWT are now fully vaccinated!
Better World Diliman serves as a marketplace for excess produce and it aims to increase farm incomes, reduce food wastage and boost farmers’ capacity through agripreneurship training programs.
Produce bought from farmers are either sold on-site to consumers and resellers, bought by donors, or have been donated to the Better World Tondo’s feeding program— almost 6,000 kilos of vegetables given to the Tondo community alone!
We’ve also helped raise awareness for our farmers through initiatives like the Circolo Market in Laguna and our Christmas project of locally sourced delicacies called Harvests of Hope.
Through creative marketing and giving them a physical space to display their produce, we’re able to showcase their skills and bring in potential customers.
Since the beginning, Better World Diliman has sold more than 800,000 kilos of excess farm produce through San Miguel Foundation partner Rural Rising. With their help, we’re able to help a total of 4,500 farmers in Luzon!
As an additional step to help combat COVID-19, Better World EDSA was established to provide accessible RT-PCR testing. Offering both drive thru and walk in services for employees and the public at P3,000, BWE serves as a key component of San Miguel Corporation’s continued surveillance and prevention of the spread of the virus.
From January to October 2021, Better World EDSA processed a total of 92,000 RT-PCR tests with almost 100% of the results released within 48 hours.
The pandemic has forced hardships on many people, and some of them are members of our very own San Miguel family. Through Backyard Bukid, SMC maintenance staff and security personnel, our employee-beneficiaries and economic front liners, were offered the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of urban gardening, as well as financial and business literacy!
Since 2019, the School for Entrepreneurial and Experiential Development (SEED Philippines) has run an agrientrepreneurship program for the underserved communities in Sumilao, Bukidnon ! Due to the pandemic, the program was shortened into a three-month course that teaches students the basics of organic farming, agriculture, and values formation.
38 SEED Sumilao scholars have passed the National Certification II for Organic Agri Production and are now helping maintain and increase the food supply in the community farms in their respective barangays!
Driven by our core value of malasakit, we at San Miguel have been doing whatever we can to help our fellow Filipinos battle through this pandemic. COVID-19 affects everyone, especially those who remain on the fringes of society. The Bakuna Bus made its way to the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong and Quezon City Jail, where over 400 persons deprived of liberty were given protection against the virus.
One of the biggest ways we’ve supported in the country’s vaccination efforts is deploying our Ligtas Lahat doctors and nurses who have helped various LGUs such as Mandaluyong, Pasig, Parañaque, Manila, Malabon, Quezon City! Our team, compromised of 168 selfless and dedicated medical front liners, have also been deployed to SMC plants in Cavite, Bataan and Batangas to help ensure the safety of our SMC employees. We’re happy to share that more than 1,500,000 doses have been administered by our team in partnership with the different LGUs.
- this has been the rallying call of San Miguel. Whether it’s donating vaccines, deploying medical teams, or contributing PPEs and medical equipment to hospitals, we’re fully committed to making the lives of Filipinos better and safer!
