Unity Bank Plc and Lagos Food Bank have donated food items worth millions of naira to a riverine community of Ogundimu Ilaje in Lagos State to address hunger and malnutrition.
The bank disclosed this in a statement signed by Mr Matthew Obiazikwor, the Head, Corporate Communications on Thursday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the donation was part of the bank’s strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) aimed at sustaining the improvement of health and social well-being of communities where it operates.
This is in line with the goals and objectives of the Lagos Food Bank Initiative, a non-profit organisation, committed to providing welfare programme to indigent people and helping the bank reach direct beneficiaries.
The statement reads that no fewer than 150 cartons of food items, tagged: ‘Unity Box of Hope’ was distributed to hundreds of households in the underserved community.
The gesture, according to the bank, comes on the heels of the challenging economic situation in the country.
The bank’s Head, Corporate Resources, Mr Hillary Oguebo, said that the initiative was in line with its drive for food security.
“The bank, as an agric-focused financial institution, is fulfilling its core mandate in line with its drive for food security.
“The bank is pleased to donate the food items to the community to help ameliorate the impact of the rising cost of food on them.
“Unity Bank has a financing business model that is principally anchored, amongst others, on boosting agricultural production and it is also meaningful for those who have not benefitted from the bank’s agric financing package to receive direct food intervention.
“Due to a lot of factors, especially growing insecurity, food production has been impacted severely, leading to historical food inflation. That has left many households struggling and battling hunger.
“So, this is a thoughtful gesture that we hope to sustain to reach as many Nigerians who really deserve this form of intervention at this critical period.
“Through a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative that feeds households in underserved communities, the bank is redefining CSR through strategic interventions that align perfectly with its business model,” Oguebo said.
