By Tori Oman
Lately I’ve had this itch to pick up my 5th grade Spanish lessons where I left off and see if I can master a new language in my adult life. I’ve learned some super important phrases for navigating my day.
Yo hablo Español –> I speak Spanish
Tu bebes leche –> You drink milk
Disculpe por favor –> Excuse me, please
So basically, if I feel like being a liar and hanging out at a dairy tasting farm while accidently bumping into one of the milk cows, I’m in solid shape. #muybueno
On the flip side, a more useful Spanish phrase I’ve learned lately is “Muévete Conmigo,” which means Move With Me. Muévete Conmigo is the name of our Pizza Hut El Salvador Team’s Community Impact program that supports efforts around reducing hunger and malnutrition in their country. The program has been in place for four years, benefitting over 50,000 children in El Salvador communities and recently was awarded a grant from the Yum! Foundation to assist with their efforts.
The World Food Programme references that El Salvador’s food and nutrition security has been at risk for quite some time. 19% of children between under the age of 5 are chronically undernourished and 17.2% of pregnant women suffer anemia after giving birth. With the help of the WFP, Muévete Conmigo is able to help over 20,000 families nationwide, including children and pregnant or recently pregnant women.
Additionally, Pizza Hut volunteers from the El Salvador franchise group do some really great things to help support amplify the program, including visiting beneficiary communities to help raise awareness and assist with distribution of meals. But there’s one volunteer who is really special. Meet the fun and cuddly “perro” that makes it all happen.
This awesome furry friend is all over El Salvador visiting schools to teach kids about sanitation and balanced meals, paying visits to partner companies and suppliers who help support the Muévete Conmigo movement and, of course, hosting the annual Maratón Puch, a ‘fun run’ that is the largest family event in El Salvador with over 1,900 participants last year. And no big deal- he’s also on the radio, plastered on posters all around the country and making the newspapers to spread the word about nutrition, hunger and healthy living.
These incredible efforts from the El Salvador Pizza Hut franchisee team are a key piece of Pizza Hut’s larger commitment to combatting world hunger with our partners at the World Food Programme. They are true leaders in our system and more importantly, true leaders in their communities. Awesome stuff, Team El Salvador. Gracias por su gran corazón.