Nolo Thobejane (Chief People, Culture and Purpose Officer, KFC Africa, Mpho Putu (Deputy Director, Department of Social Development), Akhona Qengqe (General Manager KFC Africa), Shoki Tshabalala (Deputy Director General, Department of Women, Youth & Persons with Disabilities), Andra Nel (Head of Corporate Affairs at KFC Africa)Johannesburg, South Africa/
KFC Africa has revealed what it calls the real “secret recipe” the world needs. It’s a global blueprint to fight child hunger.
In a move to mark World Food Day, the fast-food giant has open-sourced its Add Hope initiative, South Africa’s largest non-governmental feeding programme, making the model available for global sharing and scaling.
The announcement was made at The Biggest Hunger Hack, hosted at the University of Johannesburg, where 60 of the country’s brightest young minds collaborated with KFC to strengthen and reimagine the 16-year-old programme. The hackathon brought together innovators, academics, and corporate leaders to tackle the root causes of child hunger.
According to KFC Africa’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Andra Nel, Generation Z is key to finding sustainable hunger solutions.
“They’ve lived it, they understand technology, and they think in systems. We gave them our blueprint and challenged them to turn it into fresh solutions for even more hope,” she said.
The most promising hackathon ideas will be tested in the coming months, with a business-led proposal for a nationwide solution expected to be presented at a National Convention in early 2026. Up to R1 million seed funding will support the winning solution.
Since its launch in 2009, Add Hope has delivered over R1.2 billion worth of meals to vulnerable children, with R600 million donated by customers and R400 million contributed by KFC itself. The campaign has fed millions of children annually through thousands of feeding centres.
At the event, KFC announced new partnerships with McCormick, Digistics, Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa, Foodserv, Tiger Brands, CBH, and Nature’s Garden to scale its impact. “Collaboration is the only way to fight hunger at scale,” Nel stressed.
University of Johannesburg Vice-Chancellor, Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, praised the initiative as an example of how young innovators can apply Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) expertise to drive real-world change.
Experts at the event painted a grim picture of hunger’s impact on South Africa’s future.
Dr Imtiaz Sooliman of Gift of the Givers reminded attendees that food is the first request in any disaster zone, highlighting the deep-seated nature of hunger.
Siya Leshabane of UN Women said poor nutrition undermines children’s ability to learn and escape poverty.
Dr Marc Aguirre of HOPE worldwide warned that child hunger costs South Africa about 10% of its GDP due to stunting and lost productivity.
KFC Africa believes open-sourcing Add Hope could revolutionise how corporations approach social impact.
“We’re not just feeding children anymore – we’re feeding a movement with the potential to end child hunger everywhere,” said Nel. “This is the secret recipe the world really needs.”
With millions of children still at risk of hunger in South Africa and beyond, the Add Hope blueprint now serves as an open invitation for governments, corporates, and civil society to scale a proven model of hope.
