Hands, Hearts, and 100 Food Boxes: World Food Day with Kokun Foundation

Here’s some food for thought: 

They say money can’t buy happiness. But money can buy a meal, and have you ever had one of those days when you felt very mad at the whole world — then you had your favourite food and instantly, all was perfectly fine again? 

Exactly.  

For World Food Day last month, we partnered with Kokun Foundation. The plan? To deliver 100 food boxes to fill bellies and spread a lot of hope along the way. 

Team members showed up bright and early that morning, pumped up (thank you to our People Manager for the free coffee!) and ready to stuff two buses full with food boxes. 

Our PM, Bayo, tried to carry three boxes into a bus at once, and, predictably, failed badly. (But hey, it’s the thought that counts, yes?) 

Soon enough, the vans were packed, the route planned, and we were off to the venue.

Families started to arrive minutes after we were done offloading and sat waiting quietly. Some had shy smiles across their faces, a few took hesitant glances around, and a team member watched an elderly woman study our name spelled across a box and mutter “Cardtonic” to herself twice, as if trying to learn the pronunciation. 

(We thought that was very sweet!)

As we started distributing, more ‘little’ moments stood out: there was a boy who came with his mother, and followed her everywhere. After a while, he walked to where we were arranging boxes, as if to get a closer look at the team. 

Someone gave him a high-five, and a shy smile broke out immediately. He told us his name and waved politely at everyone. Soon, he was attempting to help us carry boxes to people. He could only speak and understand the Yoruba language, but from the brightness in his eyes, we could tell he was clearly fluent in the language of love. 

Even at that young age, he seemed to understand the power of giving—receiving it, sharing it, and feeling it in his heart. We left knowing that this little one had seen an example of what generosity looks like. And we know that someday, he’ll pay it forward. 

Outreaches like this remind us why giving back to communities matters to us. Poverty is a major cause of hunger and malnutrition across the world, and organizations like Kokun Foundation have spent years creating meaningful change. 

World Food Day reminds us all that food is still a basic human need, not a nice-to-have. It’s more than just filling a stomach; it’s also about dignity and relief. And every human is deserving of it, rich or poor. We’re very proud to contribute to this very important work, to the well-being of vulnerable people, to being part of something that touches lives in real, tangible ways. 

By the end of the day, all 100 boxes were gone, the bus felt emptier, and everybody was in a warm and reflective mood. 

Midway into our journey back to the office, someone made a joke about who carried the most boxes out of the vans, and who carried the least — of course, that started a shouting match! 

And that’s the thing: only people who are fueled up with food can find the energy for shouting matches like that. A full belly makes room for life, for laughter, for productivity, and for a lot more joy — that’s why World Food Day is as important as anything gets to Cardtonic.