With the help of Global Empowerment Mission, Goya Foods is delivering hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and water to Poland to help feed the more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees who arrived there after fleeing the war in their homeland.
Goya CEO Bob Unanue also delivered something else: thousands of rosaries.
About Goya Gives
Goya Gives has donated more than 4.5 million pounds of food during the pandemic, over 1 million pounds of food to the people of Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria, over 400,000 pounds of food to the starving people of Venezuela during governmental unrest and over a million pounds of food to Haiti during the earthquake, and at home during Superstorm Sandy and hurricanes Isaac, Harvey, Irene and Ida.
For Jersey City-based Goya, it’s the latest effort in a history of donations by its Goya Gives global initiative. The company donated more than 4 million pounds of food in 2020 alone — helping those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This donation has added meaning for Unanue, who said it speaks to the horror of war.
“Darkness is the absence of light, and evil is the absence of God,” he said. “With the miraculous gift of these rosaries from these beacons of light with prayer, love and hope, we will pierce the darkness and inspire the leaders of our world to reject evil and move closer to God.”
The donations are coming through Goya Europa, the European arm of Goya, through its facilities in Spain, which are positioned to provide humanitarian aid and quickly mobilize products to both Poland and Ukraine.
“Through our Goya Gives global initiative, Goya has always been at the forefront of disaster and humanitarian relief efforts; however, this is a historic attack and genocide on innocent civilians, and we cannot sit back and do nothing,” Unanue said.
“We are blessed to have a presence nearby and we are fortunate to be able to answer the call for help. We send our prayers and love to the people of Ukraine and all those who are on the ground, putting their own lives at risk to help those in need.”
William Unanue, general manager of Goya Europa, said the company is eager to do all that it can.
“Goya Europa’s strategic location allows us to react with immediate assistance,” he said. “We have already begun handling the logistics of sending the food through our distribution partners in Poland and Ukraine.”
