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MegaMunch Cookies help in hunger relief operations during typhoon season

It's always heartwarming to see how Filipinos come together to send relief goods including food, bottled water, and other necessities.

Published May 1, 2023 06:07 am

By Raoul Conui

With the typhoon season arriving earlier than usual this year, it’s best to prepare for any circumstances that may arise with the onset of heavy rains and flooding. Some areas get hit harder than others during typhoon season, and it’s always heartwarming to see how Filipinos come together to send relief goods including food, bottled water, and other necessities. In 2021, Jacob Gokongwei, then a high school freshman, was watching the news about a strong typhoon slamming parts of the Philippines. He recalled a previous conversation with David Lim, chief supply chain and sustainability officer of Universal Robina Corporation (URC) several years earlier, wherein Lim talked about a peanut butter paste that the United Nations used to give out to malnourished kids. At the time it was just a topic of conversation between the two while waiting for a flight at the airport.  Upon seeing the news about the typhoon-hit areas badly needing relief goods, Gokongwei remembered the conversation, and nudged Lim and his URC team to come up with a dense calorie-nutrient peanut butter product that could be used as relief goods. “Peanut butter is high in nutrients, protein and fat. This helps satiate hunger for longer periods of time,” says Jacob. “I thought that a peanut butter paste on its own might not be too palatable, so why not incorporate it into a cookie? A cookie is something familiar to everyone.” MegaMunch cookies

The result: MegaMunch, a ready-to-eat, high-calorie, high-energy sandwich biscuit.  Each pack of eight cookies contains the calorie equivalent of one full meal. The nutrient-dense food contains 550 Kilocalories (Kcal) per package, which is enough to bridge energy and micronutrient gaps during calamities.  The average Filipino eats about 1,500 Kcal a day, so one package is the equivalent of one meal. For comparison purposes, one cup of rice has about 200 Kcal, a can of tuna, 300 Kcal, a cup of noodles, 180 Kcal.  “We needed something that could be consumed without the basic utilities, because we assume they will be down,” he says. “The problem I really wanted to help address was, when disasters hit, to help the community that has no cooked food or clean water, and just supply them with a quick, ready-to-eat food source. A meal that could sustain you until more resources arrive, and till power and water are restored in the area.”  John says he studied the contents of many relief packages that are usually sent out during calamities, and while he acknowledged the generosity of the benefactors, he noted the disadvantages of some of the products.  “Many send instant noodles, rice, and instant coffee, which need pots, clean water, and heating, or canned sardines which need can openers and are heavy to transport,” Jacob says. “MegaMunch comes in packaging that’s easy to open with no need for a knife or can opener, is ready-to-eat, and needs no water, cooking, or heating. It also has a shelf life of 10 months.” MegaMunch cookies distributed as relief goods

Jacob sat in on the meetings with the development team as it worked on the formulation of the product to add as many calories as possible for longer satiation, came up with the name MegaMunch (“I thought it was catchy, I like alliteration,” he says), and then worked on a marketing plan to get corporations on board for scale. He also pitched his product to many companies including Microsoft, Operation Blessing Foundation Philippines Inc., the humanitarian arm of The 700 Club Asia, ABS-CBN Foundation, and Ernst & Young. E&Y purchased 2,500 packs of MegaMunch biscuits, which they distributed as relief goods in San Mateo, Pampanga, along with other goods such as soap and buckets.  Jacob also spoke about MegaMunch at a sustainability and disaster relief conference for different districts of the Rotary Club.  “After the talk, a lot of the members bought boxes of MegaMunch for their districts to give away as relief goods,” he adds.  MegaMunch cookies being given to typhoon survivors

So far, about 50,000 packs of MegaMunch have been distributed, the equivalent of 50,000 meals, thanks to various sponsors. The products are not sold commercially, but are available at cost for disaster relief efforts through URC. Each pack of eight cookies is below 20 pesos.  “The tricky thing is people say they like the product, but then don’t commit to ordering or purchasing till a disaster actually happens,” Jacob continues. “We are hoping to secure commitments for the equivalent of 50,000 more MegaMunch packs this typhoon season. Hopefully, more people will want to help.”  *For orders, please contact [megamunchph@gmail.com](mailto:megamunchph@gmail.com)*

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Manila Bulletin Lifestyle MB Lifestyle Online MB Lifestyle PH food Megamunch cookies
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