‘Gunadamin’ Elephant House, the CSR brand of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, has taken steps to immediately facilitate a daily meal program for children at the Ranala Adarsha Kanishta Vidyalaya, located close to the Elephant House factory, providing 600 nutritious meals daily to schoolchildren. The program commenced in August 2022 and will continue for one year. This initiative supports the efforts of John Keells Foundation’s ‘Pasal Diriya’ school meals program.
President, Consumer Foods Sector at John Keells Holdings Daminda Gamlath said, “We have pledged our support to the Group-wide ‘Pasal Diriya’ initiative to provide meals to schoolchildren. We have taken a crucial initial step by making 600 nutritious meals available each day for the children and, in line with the ‘Pasal Diriya’ model, we are also working to develop school kitchens to supply meals, so this can be accomplished onsite.”
The John Keells Group’s response is designed to address immediate needs in the short term and offer viable solutions over the long term, while addressing critical educational needs of children and youth. In this endeavour, John Keells Foundation – the Group’s CSR entity – recently partnered with the Ministry of Education, to support and expand on the Government’s School Meal Program in identified locations.
The ‘Pasal Diriya’ program is modelled to include the provision of funds for the preparation and distribution of meals for students not covered under the government school meal program, to construct or equip a kitchen facility within the school premises where possible, and to strengthen the network of the schools involved in the preparation and distribution of meals under the Government’s school meal program.