McDonald's Hong Kong donates meal vouchers to low-income families

McDonald's Hong Kong has donated meal vouchers to a local NGO in the city, helping underprivileged families amid difficult times.

The restaurant chain said the campaign in collaboration with NGO Caritas Hong Kong is aimed at helping 30,000 low-income families and recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme.

“Many grassroots families are facing unprecedented challenges during this wave of the pandemic. By offering meal vouchers to 30,000 CSSA and low-income families, McDonald’s Hong Kong hopes to bring happiness and warmth to families and children in need," said Randy Lai, CEO of McDonald's Hong Kong.

"We are deeply grateful to Caritas Hong Kong for this collaboration, which has made such initiative possible, and enabled us at McDonald’s Hong Kong to support underprivileged families," she added.

Joseph Yim, chief executive of Caritas-Hong Kong, said, “The fifth wave of the pandemic has posed a serious threat to the livelihood of grassroots families. On behalf of these families, we would like to thank McDonald’s Hong Kong for supporting them to cope with their livelihood challenges."

Caritas Hong Kong said eligible beneficiaries include families receiving subsidies from the Working Family Allowance scheme. The organisation does not accept new cases for joining this campaign.

The latest wave of the pandemic has impacted the livelihood of many families and the business of companies. The government said Hong Kong's unemployment rate rose by 0.6 percent points from 3.9% from November 2021 to January 2022, to 4.5% from December 2021 to February 2022. Due to staff shortages, many businesses need to reduce their services. McDonald's Hong Kong said it closed 38 outlets in the city temporarily and stop offering round-the-clock services.

On its Facebook page, McDonald's Hong Kong said it had been facing tremendous pressure lately due to the pandemic, with manpower shortages and supply chain disruption severely hampering the F&B chain's daily operation. After considering the safety of its staff and how to offer services to customers, the restaurant chain has decided to temporarily close 38 outlets. About 90 other McDonald's Hong Kong outlets will only open until 6pm. The business hours of the remaining restaurants will also be shortened. At the time of writing, McDonald's Hong Kong reopened all stores.

In addition, McDonald's Hong Kong has decided to suspend round-the-clock services, including its 24 Hours McDelivery services. McDonald's will push their evening deals earlier to 5pm to allow more people to enjoy the discount.

Related articles
McDonald's HK shuts 38 stores, 24 Hours McDelivery suspended