Vegan Apple Leather Brand Donates Free Meals To Families In Kenya Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Fashion brand Samara, whose collections feature vegan leather bags made from apple skins, is donating free meals to families in Kilifi, Kenya, amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The Toronto-based company will provide a free meal to someone in need for every $1 spent on its website – and is also accepting donations towards the initiative.

‘Make things better’

“With everything that is going on in the world, our team kept thinking, what can we do to make things better?” Samara said in an email sent to Plant Based News.

“We wanted to bring in maks, but felt that there were other companies who already had that supply chain figured out. We wanted to make masks ourselves but then realized that sewing isn’t our core competency.”

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A message from our team: In places where social distancing isn’t even possible and where poverty is prevalent, a pandemic like Covid-19 is much harder. Places like this have been neglected during this time. People have lost their jobs and families aren’t able to access food, water and other basic supplies. We’ve been wondering how we can help, specifically in certain areas in Kenya where we grew up, in the same village we’ve distributed Soular Backpacks to. For the next two weeks, for every dollar spent on our website, we will be providing a meal to someone in need. For example, if you spend $100, 100 meals would be provided to people who need it most. We also have a donation option on our website where you can donate directly towards this if you wish. Help by spreading this message, sharing it with your friends, and ultimately providing food to as many families as possible. We started @be.samara to hopefully be able to create impact, and we hope that we can pull our community together at a time like this to do some good and make the world a little better ? And we hope you’ll remember that social distancing is truly a privilege and if you’re lucky enough to do so and be in a home with food and basic needs, you are amongst the most fortunate ?

A post shared by SAMARA (@be.samara) on May 3, 2020 at 11:45am PDT

‘Impossible to social distance’

The brand’s Founder Salima grew up in Kenya, where some people living below the poverty line survive on under $1 a day – without access to food and water. Many have also lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

“In slums and villages, it’s impossible to social distance. There is so much of a need for food on a regular basis, but bring in a pandemic and it escalates even more,” Samara added.

You can make a donation here