At present, as many as 31,000 food packets are distributed under the ambitious programme, initiated to support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 2 - Zero Hunger. As part of scaling up, 51,000 nutritious food packets will now be distributed.

The expansion plan was officially flagged off by Adv. P S Sreedharan Pillai, Honourable Governor of Goa, at the World Hunger Day observance event held on May 28th, at Malabar Headquarters (MHQ). M P Ahammed, Malabar Group chairman, presided over the function.  P T A Rahim, MLA unveiled the Hunger Free World donation gateway and Thottathil Raveendran, MLA launched the official newsletter. Dr Basith Vadakkayil, Project Head - IPRH Daya Rehabilitation Trust, briefed about the programme. P K Ahammed, Peekay Group Chairman, and P V Chandran, Mathrubhumi Managing Editor, offered felicitations. K P Veeran Kutty, Executive Director,  Malabar Group, graced the occasion with his presence. O Asher, Malabar Gold & Diamonds Managing Director (India Operations), welcomed the guests and Nishad A K, Malabar Group Executive Director, proposed the vote of thanks.

At present the programme is implemented in 37 cities spread across 16 states including Union Territories, apart from a few centres in the Gulf countries. As part of the expansion, the programme will now cover 70 cities in 16 states. Besides, the Group also plans to launch the same programme for school children in the African nation of Zambia known for the largest level of gold mining in the world.

“There are still plenty of people around us who are struggling to secure at least one square meal a day. We launched this programme as a small hand of help to those governments and agencies working hard to eliminate hunger from our world,” said M P  Ahammed.

The Hunger Free World programme is executed with the help of the highly recognised social welfare NGO `Thanal - Daya Rehabilitation Trust.’ Modern kitchens have been set up in different places to prepare nutritious food in a hygienic environment by skilled chefs. The volunteers of Malabar Group and Thanal identify the needy people in the streets and urban suburbs and bring the food packets to their doorsteps.

The NGO volunteers are also surveying the beneficiaries to assess the social and economic causes of hunger. As part of this programme, the Malabar Group in association with Thanal, has already started the `Grandma Home’ project to identify poor and orphaned elderly women and provide them with free food, accommodation and other health care. Two such `Grandma Homes' have been set up in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Plans are afoot to set up similar homes in Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and a few select cities in Kerala. This will provide an opportunity for neglected and orphaned women to live with dignity. The Group has also launched a micro-learning programme to support the primary education of street children.

Apart from this, the Malabar Group is also active in other social welfare and charitable activities like financial assistance for medical care, education support to female students, and partial support for house construction. The Group earmarks five percent of the profits from its verticals, including Malabar Gold & Diamonds, as a CSR fund for social welfare activities. The Group has already spent Rs 246 crore on such social welfare programmes.