KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut Shift Fundraising Strategy

The New York Times reports on global fast-food giant Yum Brands’ annual antihunger campaign, which asks customers at the firm’s KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut outlets to make donations at the cash register rather than linking donations to purchases of particular menu items.

Yum’s World Hunger Relief effort to benefit the United Nations World Food Program and other groups has followed the model of seeking contributions at the counter since its inception in 2007.

“Prior to launching this we did a lot of research with consumers, and the research suggested that we should not try and solve world hunger on the back of a purchase of one of our products at one of our restaurants,” said Jonathan Blum, a spokesman for the company.

The Times article contrasts that approach with KFC’s much-maligned Buckets for the Cure campaign, in which the chain donated 50 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for each sale of pink buckets of fried chicken. That effort was widely criticized for associating high-fat foods with the fight to cure breast cancer, which some studies link to obesity.

Yum CEO David C. Novak defended that 2010 effort, which raised $4.25-million, at the time the largest contribution to Komen. “People will criticize you when you do good, people will look for ulterior motives—our philosophy is to do good anyway,” he said.