New GEP Program to Combat Hunger and Malnutrition, Support Education in India, as Part of Clinton Global Initiative

Families in very poor communities frequently feel enormous pressure to remove their children from school because those children are needed to find means to help sustain themselves. By providing the children of these families a meal at school without charge, the "Million Meals" program provides both incentive and aid to help keep these kids in school.

GEP's "Million Meals" program will operate under the auspices of the Indian Government's Mid-Day Meal (MDM) program. GEP's "Million Meals" program is just one part of GEP's Social Initiatives ("GEPSI") program, an enterprise-wide global undertaking focused on combating hunger and poverty, and supporting childhood education and entrepreneurship for women.

GEP developed the "Million Meals" program as part of its work with the Clinton Global Initiative. At least five thousand children annually are expected to be provided meals during the program's initial term of three years.

"GEP is a diverse global company, and a caring community, that is very much committed to the places in which we work and live, and to the people we work with," said Roopa Makhija, president and co-founder of GEP. "Social responsibility and good citizenship are part of the very DNA of GEP. We're pleased to bring our tradition of GEPSI initiatives to a new level with our partners at CGI."

According to latest FAO estimates in "The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2015" report, 194.6 million people are undernourished in India. To improve the nutritional status of children as well as motivate parents in sending their kids to school, the Indian Government initiated the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme in 1995.

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative — an initiative of the Clinton Foundation — convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 180 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media.

To date, members of the CGI community have made over 3,400 commitments, improving the lives of more than 430 million people in over 180 countries. CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow them on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and on Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

About GEP

GEP is a diverse, creative team of people passionate about procurement. We invest ourselves entirely in our clients' success, creating strong collaborative relationships that deliver extraordinary value year after year. We deliver practical, effective procurement services and procurement technology that enable procurement leaders to maximize their impact on business operations, strategy and financial performance.

Clark, NJ-based GEP has 12 offices and operations centers in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

For more about SMART by GEP, our cloud-native sourcing and procurement software platform, please visit www.smartbygep.com. To learn more about our comprehensive range of consulting and outsourcing services, please visit www.gep.com.  

Media Contact

Al Girardi
Global Vice President, Marketing & Analyst Relations
GEP Worldwide
Phone: 732-382-6565
Email: al.girardi@gep.com