World Food Programme Honours UPS With Hunger Hero Award

“UPS is a steadfast partner that is always quick to offer vital resources that are often in short supply during emergencies,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. “UPS and its employees are true champions for Zero Hunger and great examples of what can be achieved working together with the private sector.”

Beasley presented the 2018 Hunger Hero Award to Abney on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Since 2009, UPS has provided critical in-kind support to WFP directly and as a founding member of its Logistics Emergency Teams (LET), a collaboration of global logistics and transportation companies that support the humanitarian community during emergencies. The partnership was initiated at WEF in Davos in 2005 and is now entering its twelfth year.

“I’m honoured to accept this award on behalf of The UPS Foundation and all the hard-working employees who take part in emergency responses around the globe,” said Abney. “As a global leader in logistics, we are able to provide the insight and expertise to deliver personnel, goods and services to the places that need them most during natural disasters and emergency crises. We look forward to continued collaboration with WFP to support the humanitarian community.”

UPS’s support to WFP has included deploying rapid response teams and calling up logistics personnel from an emergency roster to take part in coordinated responses; providing airlift services to deliver essential food and supplies to depots at the scene of a response; and providing warehouse facilities and equipment to WFP when needed. Additionally, UPS executives are often deployed to share logistics expertise to help prepare for future emergencies. UPS also provides capacity building grants to strengthen WFP’s capabilities to respond more efficiently to rapid onset and complex global crises.

In addition to the company’s in-kind resources and expertise, The UPS Foundation provides cash donations to WFP, often at the earliest moments following a natural disaster when flexible funds are needed most. The foundation also supports WFP’s post-harvest loss prevention project in Uganda.

The award ceremony took place during the World Leaders Dinner at the WFP tent.

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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.

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For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org):

Anand Kantaria, WFP/Davos, Mob. +44 7908 230165

Jane Howard, WFP/Rome, Tel. +39 06 65132321, Mob. +39 346 7600521

Francis Mwanza, WFP/London, Tel.  +44 20 3857 7411, Mob.  +44 7968 008474

Bettina Luescher, WFP/Geneva, Tel. +41 22 917 8564, Mob. + 41-79-842-8057

Steve Taravella, WFP/New York, Tel. +1-646-556-6909, Mob. 1-202-770-5993

Challiss McDonough, WFP/Washington DC, Tel. +1-202-653-1149, Mob. +1-202-774-4026