pinnacle foods strategic preparedness & response in covid19
our corporate social responsibility projects

OUR LOCAL RESPONSE:
Seeds of Love Project is Pinnacle Foods' local response to the COVID19 situation in Botswana.  We do this in two keystone projects in the organisation.  These projects, had been rolling out even as the organisation was entering the lock-down with the nation:

• Growing and supplying crop seedlings project which we lovingly refer to as "Sowing Seeds of Love" and
• Retailing washable fitted breathable cloth face mask project which we call it "Sewing Seeds of Love", using a pun on the words sow.
  
  

Despite access restrictions, we are now working with our local and overseas partners deliver the assistance that is needed to:

• Curb the spread of the virus physically as well as;
• Build up the nation's immunity while we help protect communities from its economic impact.

OUR STRATEGIC PREPAREDNESS:
​Sanitation practices began in early March and we went into lockdown a week before the nation did.  This is as it stays active in mind (developing group task sheets, reviewing its training literature, developing SOPs) and body (healthy eating, exercise and good doses of sunlight).

MFK led the pack in preparing its organisation be fully equipped technologically so as to work remotely.  It then learned to use the technical resources in its hand with its members so as to continue developing the organisation off-site.  

We are proud to announce that its members are now completely 'au fait' with remote working procedures and have become very adept at using internet applications and learn to discipline its time and ways to allow work to happen while being at home.  We are proud to have acquired this new level of capability for the organisation at this stage of our development.

APRIL/MAY 2020

project #1:  sowing seeds of love - MFK SEEDLINGS PROJECT
BUILDING A RESILIENT LOCAL  FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN - "i BUY LOCALLY"

Our farmer hard at work tending to the young seedlings as one of his own children.

a letter to our prospective client

We took a few weeks to find our feet on the project.   But here's  where we are now ...

• When did we start?
  The plans to roll out the program began as early as February 2020.  With the possibility of a looming lockdown, Pinnacle Foods took a strategic direction to divert its newly formed team away from its core business of food production to growing seedlings for farmers.  As the food scene whittled down through much of 2020, Pinnacle Foods shored its attention and resources on a brand new venture for itself yet stay close to its mark of a house on a farm.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh--nPHl7d4
  
  
• Why did we start?
  Even with the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise edging closer to home and the looming closure of borders, as MFK Gardens Farm we had decided to position us as a viable alternative for local farmers to seedlings produced and transported from SA.  Our estimate was that a load of 40,000 seedlings can you set you back easily by 70,000 pula (60,000 + 10,000 derived from 1.5 p x 40,000 + cost of transport to and from the boarder cost of custom fees), which is 1.75-2 pula per seedling.  With us, you get high quality seedlings at around 1 pula per seedling bringing your damages to a more modest 40,000 pula and the savings of 30,000 pula gets passed on to you.  When BW was hit by border closures and our farming routines as we knew it came to a halt, our minds were made up.  We soldered on despite the majority of the path ahead of us were strewn with uncertainties. 
• And so, despite three lockdowns in 2020, the team went itself about to build the infrastructure that we would need to do the roll out which included building the greenhouse, seedling cabinets, irrigation systems as well as setting up a conducive ecosystem environment that had meant we reduce the use of pesticides and therefore reduce overall costs as well as produce pesticide-free seedlings for the farmers.  All of this while enhancing the quality of soil in the gardens-farm. 
  
  
• What we strive to do?
  When we pass our prices to you, we ensure all costs of production are included and, in this way, we practice fair competition standards.  At the same time, we ensure that the methodology is cost effective such as the use of our micro-jet water system so that the seedlings are not overwatered.  This way, you and us are assured that we are here to serve you for the long-run.  We think this is an  important criteria in ensuring we monitor and develop the quality of yields that our farmers themselves strive to produce.
   
• What our future holds for us in 2021?
  We are now in the midst of increasing our current capacity of 40,000 seedlings produced every three weeks to 200,000 levels as part of our endeavor to promote farmers locally.  We are therefore confident that we can now produce seedlings throughout the four seasons of the year.   Warm crops such as tomatoes, green pepper, chilies and spinach in the warm months and cabbage, beetroot and swiss chards for the cool months.
• As My Farmhouse Kitchens, we are a food manufacturer.  Your produce becomes the input too for the foods that we process. 
• We are stretching our hands to you in passing on the knowledge of growing crops using eco-friendly growing and plant management techniques using companion planting techniques, growing by the moon and constellation signs (which determines the best times to transplant, and harvest) and relying on creating an environment that attracts beneficial insects to get rid of the non-beneficial insects.
• To this effect, we have setup on WhatsApp, a group of our customers who represent a community of farmers who can learn from each other and in that way we grow together.  Our success depends on your success.  That we work to make each day   better than the day before. 
• We are attaching our campaign materials for your reference (video, photos, flyers). 
• So, what had started out as a diversion strategy has turned into a fully-fledged business that has created four jobs at our end and countless others down the stream.  Kudos to our team for a job well done! 

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE A FARMER LOOKING FOR SEEDLINGS:

HOW TO GET YOUR SEEDLINGS WHEN YOU WANT THEM: 

• Place your order up to 160K seedlings giving 4 weeks lead time to your transplanting 
• State the choice of seedlings variety on the Farmers' Order Form
• Pay 70% deposit upfront and 30% on collection on signing Farmers' Agreement
• Receive weekly progress updates on your seedling production through reports and visuals on your WhatsApp 
• Collect your order on the expected period of completion
• A dependable farm production experience awaits you. ​

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Project #2:  sewing seeds of love - MFK FACE MASK PROJECT
building a resilient economy inspite the covid19 pandemic on the continent

Fashionable Breathable Fitted Reusable Masks made in Botswana

Locate them in shops around town on lifting of
​the August 2020 lock down of Greater Gaborone.

"CDC recommends that people wear a cloth face covering to cover their nose and mouth in the community setting,” said Dr Mike Bell, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. “This is to protect people around you if you are infected but do not have symptoms by blocking your respiratory droplets.”

WHY MUST YOU CARE?

In an emergency, tailors turn out half-minted masks so that they reach the masks to the intended wearer, as fast as possible.  Given this, the fitness of the mask and looks on the wearer, often assume a lesser significance.  In an emergency they would have no choice.

True but half true.  Here's why so.

How the mask looks and fits the wearer makes the difference in whether the mask will be used correctly or not at all.  Masks can irritate the skin behind the ears or on the cheeks or gets too hot when the wearer breathes into it or it is difficult to breath into.  The wearer may loosen the bottom half of the mask or does not fit it as well as around the face creating gaps.  Or it just does not make the wearer look good.

​All of these give rise to reasons why a wearer would choose not to wear the mask correctly or not at all, often when its use is at its most critical. 

When wearers do not wear the masks correctly, then any country about to enter into the colder but dryer winter season, stands to risk seeing risings rates of infection among its population.  This is likely to see sustained shutdown of the economy and lock-downs of the population.  This is expensive for the country and ultimately for the citizen.

When persons look at their best whether they are in uniform or dressed casually, we can expect the mask to be worn correctly.

QUESTIONS THAT CONCERN US

1. WHAT STOPS ONE FROM NOT WEARING THE MASK IN SHARED SPACES?
2. WHAT CAUSES US TO REMOVE THE MASK WHEN WE SPEAK?  WHY NOT SO?
3. HOW LONG DO YOU KEEP THE MASK ON?  WHY SO?
4. WHEN THE LOCKDOWN LIFTS, AND WE ARE EXPECTED TO BE AT THE WORKPLACE FOR 6-8 HOURS, CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF WEARING THE MASK, DURING THE ENTIRE PERIOD?  IF NOT, WHY NOT SO?
5. ​AND IF YOU DON’T WEAR IT FOR THE ENTIRE WORK TIME, HOW WOULD YOU PROTECT YOURSELF FROM ASYMPTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS?

OUR SOLUTION

​DESIGN AND SUPPLY FACE MASKS, WEARER WANTS TO WEAR.  WEARING A MASK IS TO BREAK THE HABIT OF TOUCHING THE FACE WITH THE HANDS AS WELL AS TO PROTECT OTHERS IF YOU ARE ASYMPTOMATIC.  THIS IS BECAUSE MOST TRANSMISSIONS ARE NOT AIRBORNE.  IT IS DROPLETS.  AND ASYMPTOMATIC FOR OTHERS.
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GUIDELINES FOR WEARERS:

• YOU DON’T NEED A MEDICAL N95 MASK.
• DISTANCE YOURSELF 1-2 M FROM EACH OTHER
• NOT TO INTERACT FOR LONGER THAN 15 MINUTES WITH SOMEONE WHO IS SYMPTOMATIC.  EVEN OTHERWISE.
• ISOLATE ONESELF IF SYMPTOMATIC AND INFORM THOSE WHOM ONE HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH FOR TWO DAYS BEFORE THE SYMPTOMS APPEARED.
• START TO LEARN TO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE.
• WASH MASK AFTER EACH USE WITH WARM WATER AND SOAP.
• WASH HANDS WITH SOAP AFTER REMOVING AND PLACING MASK EACH TIME.
• REMEMBER MASKS ONLY SERVES TO SLOW THE SPREAD OUTSIDE THE BODY.  YOU WOULD STILL NEED A STRONG IMMUNITY SYSTEM WITHIN YOUR BODY TO FIGHT BACK THE DISEASE.

DESIGNING AND SUPPLYING MASKS WEARERS WANT ​TO WEAR

At Pinnacle Foods, it matters how well the mask looks when worn and more importantly serves WHO guidelines of ensuring the mask covers the nose and the mouth and that there are no gaps between the mask and the face.

This serves the ultimate purpose of ensuring the wearer is protected from infection or in the event of himself becoming asymptomatic (having the disease even when one does not exhibit symptoms) or are about to develop the symptoms in 1-2 days time, the mask stops one from infecting others.

This loophole the virus exhibits misses most of us, when dealing with it.  This simple measure of a longer-wearing mask would mean, it can allow more of the population, beyond essential workers, to keep the wheel of the economy running while following strict guidelines in a post-lock-down situation.

We had also wanted people to wear masks that are friendlier to the environment.  We have designed these masks such that pre-shrinkages are accommodated for and allows the wearer to wash them safely and re-use and still look just as good.

The trick to good mask usage is, we believe, the wearer must look better than when he does not wear the mask so that he continues to want to wear them.   Our private challenge is should Donald Trump wants to wear our masks, we have achieved our objective for this project.  And in this way, the mask protects the population against COVID-19.

APRIL 24, 2020
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DID YOU KNOW?

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OUR PROJECT MISSION








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​​WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION MASK MANAGEMENT  GUIDELINES:

The project aims to decrease the spread of COVID19, allowing residents move around and go about their tasks while protecting themselves and those around them.

The project in turn relieves the pressure on manufacturers to continue to have sufficient medical masks made available for the medical community.

Is environmentally friendly.  Just rewash using warm water and salt and reuse.

Fashion Face Mash that fit, breathable and are washable.

2/5 /10 pieces per bag for males and females.

The face mask serves to break the habit of the hand touching the face.  COVID19 unless the person is in a constant contact with a patient, most often gets infected from viruses that has dropped onto surfaces and our hands have picked them up.  If the hand does not reach the face, the virus cannot infect us. So always know where your hands are.  But we also are creatures of habit.  We are used to bringing the hand to our face, nose, ears, eyes and sometimes even the mouth.  Once the virus latches to a mucus membrane, it travels to the throat area where it begins to infect the lungs.  That begins the onset of the infection.  The mask serves to break that link.
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Male and female masks separately.

​Adult

Color: Charcoal/Black, Navy, White, Tan/Brown
Folded size: 130*107*10 mm
Material: Cotton or linen

• Breathability of material used
• Shape of mask and
• Fit of mask
• Washability

40 pula per piece for individual retails
200 pula for couple pack of five face masks

For any type of mask, appropriate use and disposal are essential to ensure that they are effective and to avoid any increase in transmission.  
 
The following information on the correct use of masks is derived from practices in health care settings.

• Place the mask carefully, ensuring it covers the mouth and nose, and tie it securely to minimize any gaps between the face and the mask.
• Avoid touching the mask while wearing it.
• Remove the mask using the appropriate technique: do not touch the front of the mask but untie it from behind.
• After removal or whenever a used mask is inadvertently touched, clean hands using an alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
• Replace masks as soon as they become damp with a new clean, dry mask.
• Do not re-use single-use masks.
• Discard single-use masks after each use and dispose of them immediately upon removal.