With the global health crisis driving school closures across the country, kids who rely on school for food have missed nearly 608 million meals to date. Because students urgently need support to meet their nutrition needs during this time of crisis, PepsiCo and the company’s philanthropic arm The PepsiCo Foundation announced the launch of Give Meals, Give Hope. It’s an initiative to help connect kids in need with critical food through a fundraising campaign with No Kid Hungry, a national campaign working to ensure every kid gets three meals a day during the pandemic and after, especially those in the hardest-hit communities.
Despite nationwide efforts to help feed children during this emergency, significant hurdles remain including increased demand for rapid supply of nutritious food and beverages, low awareness of meal availability, and distribution barriers to bring meals “the last mile” to children and families.
Recruiting an All-Star Team to Propel No Kid Hungry® Endeavors
PepsiCo is enlisting athletes including New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and WNBA All-Star A’ja Wilson to rally communities to contribute to No Kid Hungry and spread the word about this important issue using #GiveMealsGiveHope. To double the support, PepsiCo will match $1 million in donations made at NoKidHungry.org/PepsiCoGives from April 13 through April 30, 2020.
“We’re thankful for partners like PepsiCo who are leveraging their capabilities and assets — like a roster of star athletes — to help get the word out and ensure all kids have access to nutritious food during this challenging time and beyond,” said Jill Davis, Chief Revenue Officer for No Kid Hungry.
Delivering on the PepsiCo Promise to Fight Hunger
Give Meals, Give Hope is one part of PepsiCo’s more than $45 million effort to fight hunger and distribute 50 million meals globally amid the health crisis. In the U.S., PepsiCo is providing 20 million nutritious meals to communities in need through The PepsiCo Foundation’s Food for Good program, the No Kid Hungry partnership, and a partnership with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty and USDA to reach rural students. In addition, PepsiCo has committed $3 million to support Team Rubicon’s food delivery operations for partners Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, and others in 100 locations across the U.S.
“The massive scope of this issue calls for businesses, nonprofits and citizens to join forces,” said Anne Fink, President of PepsiCo Foodservice. “Our Foodservice team works with thousands of schools so we’re seeing firsthand the urgency to get kids the nourishment they need now more than ever. We’re passionately committed to serving students and we urge everyone to give what they can to make an even bigger impact.”
With extensive knowledge of Kindergarten – 12th grade nutrition guidelines, the PepsiCo Foodservice team also will donate products to schools. PepsiCo is utilizing its portfolio of healthier brands, like Quaker, Tropicana, Smartfood, Sun Chips and Rold Gold, while helping fill the need for nutritious shelf-stable meals that can travel “the last mile.”
