McDonald's donates cheeseburgers to Rome's poor

In a bid to make peace with its critics in the Vatican, McDonald's served 50 meals to the homeless on Monday, adopting Pope Francis's sermon of feeding the hungry. 

The American fast-food giant drew flak last month when it opened a branch just steps from St. Peter Square, with some cardinals disagreeing that the building could have been used to house the poor. 

McDonald's tied up with charity, Medicina Solidale to donate food to the needy in the next six months. 

On Monday, through the charity, McDonald's donated double cheeseburger, apple and a bottle of water. 

Medicina Solidale initiated the project, the group's representative Fotini Iordanoglou said. "McDonald's responded, giving us this chance to help," Iordanoglou said. "We absolutely won't resolve hunger but we are trying to give a small meal to people who need it."

Pierfrancesco Spiga, 46, lost his job as a gardener and now sleeps in a residence run by a cooperative, said "It would be good if these multi-national companies gave food at the end of the day to poor people who don't have any, instead of throwing it away," adding other companies should also take the initiative. 

(WION with inputs from Reuters)