In September, autumn begins to show in the heart of the Qinling Mountains. On the playground of Huilong Town Central Primary School in Zhen'an County, a few children stood on tiptoe looking toward the teaching building—they had heard that guests were coming today. These children may not yet know that the name "Donate One Yuan" has been well known for nineteen years. But they do know that their school's kitchen has recently changed.
Recently, the 2026 "Donate One Yuan Village School Kitchen Renewal" charity walk was held at Huilong Town Central Primary School in Zhen'an County. Representatives from Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC), the Shaanxi Nutritionist Association, and Huashang Net, together with more than a hundred teachers and students from Huilong Town Central Primary School, jointly participated in the event. The event officially began at 1:30 p.m. A relevant responsible person from the Zhen'an County Education and Sports Bureau first delivered a speech, welcoming and thanking the "Donate One Yuan" project for landing in Zhen'an. Subsequently, a representative of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC) introduced the progress of the "Donate One Yuan Village School Kitchen Renewal" project to the teachers and students present.
Since 2008, when Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC) joined hands with the China Rural Development Foundation to launch the project, it has consistently adhered to the concept of small-sum charity over nineteen years. Up to now, the project has cumulatively raised more than 280 million yuan in donations, attracted more than 150 million person-times of participation in giving, covered 101 counties in 17 provinces (autonomous regions) across the country, provided more than 60 million nutritious meals for rural children, built more than 1,700 modern love kitchens, and directly benefited more than one million rural children. A representative of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC) introduced the "Donate One Yuan" project during the event. These figures have found a concrete landing point at Huilong Town Central Primary School.
On the same day, a representative of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC) awarded the school the "Love Kitchen" plaque, and the principal of Huilong Town Central Primary School accepted the plaque on behalf of the school. The school's kitchen has been fully equipped with modern equipment such as induction cookers, rice steamers, and disinfection cabinets. Hundreds of students have said goodbye to traditional earthen stoves, effectively improving the kitchen's meal supply efficiency. The children eating seriously deserve attention.
It is worth noting that in 2026, in addition to hardware renovation, the "Donate One Yuan" project will further deepen the implementation of the food education system. According to the project introduction, focusing on six major themes—breakfast pairing, balanced lunch, light dinner, bone protection, dietary advisor, and "I am a little life expert"—the project has joined hands with a team of nutrition experts to create standardized course packages and build a food education closed loop of "classroom learning + practical dissemination." After the start of the school term in September, a series of courses will be fully rolled out in more than 60 project schools in 9 provinces (autonomous regions) across the country. The event also invited a relevant responsible person from the Shaanxi Nutritionist Association to participate. The intervention of professional nutrition forces in rural campuses points to a deeper proposition: from "eating enough" to "eating well," and then to "knowing how to eat," crossing these three levels requires far more than just a good pot. Yang Guangli, president of the Shaanxi Nutritionist Association, explained nutrition knowledge to students at the event.
Outside the event site, an interaction of goodwill spanning urban and rural areas is taking place. Previously, children in assisted schools hand-drew postcards featuring the nutritious meals they eat every day and local specialty foods, and passed them back to urban donors. The 2026 "Donate One Yuan" project takes "Good Food Today" as its theme. Consumers can donate through public internet fundraising platforms, or order charity meal sets at KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and LAVAZZA coffee. For each set sold, Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC) donates 1 yuan to the China Rural Development Foundation's "Donate One Yuan Village School Kitchen Renewal" project, and Tencent Charity additionally matches 1 yuan (with a total matching donation cap of 500,000 yuan). This model transforms the "everyday good deed" that the public can easily do into warm and balanced "good food today" in rural children's bowls.
Starting from September 1, the project simultaneously launched charity-themed restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and other places, setting up an "Love Mailbox" interactive area and an exhibition of hand-drawn food postcards by rural children. Consumers can write postcard replies on site and complete cross-regional interactions of goodwill with assisted children. Caring people wrote postcard replies.
Since its launch in 2008, the "Donate One Yuan" project has gone through nineteen years. From a nutritious snack to a modern kitchen, and then to a food education course system, the project has always closely followed the evolving needs of rural children's growth and upgraded accordingly. As the event organizer said, in the future the project will continue to transform every act of goodwill into daily good food for rural children, supporting children's healthy growth and rural revitalization, and allowing "good deeds" and "good food" to continue moving toward each other in both directions. Volunteers of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC)'s "Donate One Yuan" played games with students.
After the ceremony, attending leaders, guests, and teacher and student representatives of Huilong Town Central Primary School took a group photo as a souvenir. The 2026 "Donate One Yuan Village School Kitchen Renewal" charity walk Zhen'an station event concluded successfully.