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On what was meant to be a holiday week in Japan, torrential rains fell over much of the country causing widespread flooding and landslides. The death toll has risen to eight and 18 municipalities have been declared disaster areas so far with more rain still to come.
One affected area is Soja City in Okayama Prefecture where nine evacuation centers were set up on Aug 14 that accommodated 371 residents who heeded the call. Given the sudden nature of evacuation shelters they’re usually spartan conditions, but in this case evacuees were greeted with the unexpected luxury of 1,400 pieces of baked goods within hours of their arrival, all donated by Yamazaki Baking.
Meanwhile, in Hiroshima City, some 2,000 pies, buns, and sandwiches were distributed to shelters between Aug 13 and 16. On Aug 15, neighboring Akitakata City was given 900 baked goods for their shelters. Once again, this was all done by Yamazaki Baking company alone.
▼ Yamazaki is the maker of Japan’s famous Lunch Pack premade sandwich pouches.
If you’re keeping track, that’s well over 4,000 items donated to shelters in scattered affected locations around Japan almost instantaneously, and we have an inkling that these are just the ones we’re hearing about.
Part of the reason for the incredibly fast donation is that the areas send out a request to the company for assistance. This is because Yamazaki Baking has an extensive history of disaster relief. Yamazaki bread was dispatched during the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, and Soja City again when it was hit by heavy rain in 2018. During sudden blizzards in 2014, 2018 and 2019 that left thousands of motorists stranded, a fleet of Yamazaki trucks arrived and hand delivered bread to victims.
It’s enough that in times of disaster a Yamazaki truck with its signature picture of a girl eating a sandwich is about as expected as a fire truck and ambulance.
Even despite their track record with donations, Soja Mayor Soichi Kataoka tweeted his amazement and appreciation of Yamazaki’s speed and professionalism. All in the same day that the evacuation was called for, Yamazaki coordinated with city officials to evenly and quickly distribute a surplus of bread where it was needed most.
▼ “Yamazaki Baking dropped this off at the Showa area evacuation center without delay and without a fuss. What can I say about this company? It is extremely appreciated.”
So, how does a baked goods company arrive at the scene, regardless of where it is in Japan, so fast that they too could be considered first responders?
The reason is also why their bread tastes so good no matter where in Japan you are: They have factories everywhere. To be exact, there are 26 factories across Japan and the company handles its own distribution centers and trucking, all so that the products get to consumers in the freshest condition possible.
But it’s this same distribution system that also makes Yamazaki an ideal national disaster response network. All it needed was to be a company that is not only willing to help, but eager to.
“Yamazaki believes that it is our social duty as a food company to provide emergency food to areas affected by large-scale disasters. During the Great Tohoku Earthquake in 2011, the Great Hanshin Earthquake, Chuetsu Earthquake in Niigata, Kumamoto Earthquake, Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake, and more, we have made every effort to supply and deliver relief food such as bread, rice balls, and beverages to those who had to evacuate. We will also continue to make efforts to improve this system so that we can fulfill our mission as a company who plays a role in the food supply of Japan.”
(Yamazaki Bakery website)
Source: J-Cast News, Yamazaki Baking, Matomebu
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- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2021/08/20/yamazaki-bakery-once-again-donates-bread-to-evacuation-centers-at-almost-inhuman-speeds/
19 Comments
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kurisupisu
The charity is hard to fault but the nutritional content of Yamazaki bread is not….
JeffLee
An advertorial? Maybe Yamazaki did this for publicity as much as for charity.
I used to be an investor in General Mills, and its annual reports routinely list its various assistance and contribution efforts to disaster areas, although they normally give cash so as not to gain any PR benefits on people's suffering and so assistance organizations can choose and buy the items be suited to the given situation. This is an established part of US food companies' CSR efforts. Maybe Yamazaki could take that course instead.
OssanAmerica
Maybe they should make Yamazaki in charge of distrubuting the vaccines.
Pukey2
If I had a box of Yamazaki products, I'd give it away too. Horrible stuff which manages to pass for bread in Japan.
Do me a favour.
Antiquesaving
Well very nice of them perhaps the fact they are still the only bread producer in Japan to still use Potassium bromine banned in most countries as a carcinogen and which every other bread company in Japan stopped using because of the health risks.
This makes it possible for Yamazaki bread to produce faster and with less loss.
Fighto!
Good for Yamazaki, amazing kindness from them.
Hopefully the public gets out and supports them by buying their bread!
snowymountainhell
A much-welcomed bit of corporate help to the communities face with disasters. - Would be equally great if many other businesses could contribute their overages DAILY to those less fortunate. - Also, nice to see peace & mutual respect continues and people are ‘breaking bread’, so to speak. - Agreed. Envious of handcrafted, ‘homemade’ breads in a home without a gas oven.
BackpackingNepal
These bread survived the bravery of Barefoot Gen.
Antiquesaving
KentarogaijinToday 04:17 pm JST
I don't nor does any of my Japanese family, Pasco will do just fine especially their English muffins, Yamazaki English muffins are horrid.
Moderator
Back on topic please.
mmwkdw
I doubt, those receiving the breads would be thinking this was a PR stunt, instead, they perhaps may be grateful.
smithinjapan
Good on them, although this really smacks of a PR campaign and little more. I say this because I've worked at rival Fujipan, who does the EXACT same thing, and in fact has been doing so for much longer and more extensively than Yamazaki, and the other makes zero mention of other companies likewise having a history of donating to disaster relief (and in fact Yamazaki is part of the source material).
I'm not trying to advertise for Fujipan, either. My stint there was limited to a couple of winter holidays working as a part-timer, and only just for the heck of it because a friend who works there regularly said they needed people and I was doing nothing that year (and enjoyed it so much, I have done it sometime since). So, one reason why they are so fast is because it's a competition for recognition. And one reason for the volume is that they often produce more than they can sell. I guess, in this kind of situation at least, it's both a good competition, and nice use of food that would otherwise literally be mashed up for cattle feed.
snowymountainhell
The motives & methods of this organization remain “questionable”!
NOT Yamazaki for doing something truly good by helping others but the ‘organization’ highlighting their virtuous efforts here Today!! 2 posters discussing some of the featured products & their benefits or shortcomings seems exactly ‘on topic’. Then, another tells them if they don’t agree then, not to eat it. Those are ‘individual opinions’. No one is harmed by either. NOT even the company featured. Then, another thinks they’ve gone ‘off topic’. One possible conclusion is: If media just wants the same effect of an ‘echo-chamber’, then, just ‘post ‘the story’ AND ‘turn off the comments’ option. - Or, better, just ‘tell us’ like, the source of this story, what other ‘Netizens’ had to say and be done with it.
People are grateful for what the get during these difficult times. They’ll be fine. They don’t have time to read to see if EVERYONE agreed with the commercial quality of the food they were getting as charity. So please, perhaps it equally virtuous to just stop trying to control what some may think and say.
uktokyo
Not sure where the "at inhuman soeeds" part comes from - perhaps the writer was drunk - but I do like their tuna sandwiches.
ShinkansenCaboose
Why not just pick up the one-hour-dated items collected at all food stores and convenience stores and distribute those? They are not rotted at all and taste fine. I offer to buy them when I see a clerk taking them off the shelf and they tell me they are illegal to sell and must trash them.
What a waste of good food.
Flute
@ShinkansenCaboose
Because in the middle of disaster lot of stores tend to be closed, perhaps. And also logistically it is harder to collect enough of them from the stores still open and bring them back then distribute these than having a nice little come by itself with plenty enough for everyone.
Do not know why it is 1 hour. You should try to go a bit earlier this way you can still crab these and at discounted price.
Good of Yamazaki, Fujipan and any other doing it.
socrateos
mmwkdw:
Of course they know. It's both good will and profit making at the same time. They are not enslaved to a Socialist dogma that making money is evil.