PepsiCo expands Food for Good platform globally, pledges to
grow affordable nutritious options from brands including
Quaker
PURCHASE, N.Y., Nov. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, PepsiCo
(NASDAQ: PEP) announced a new goal to help 50 million people
gain ready access to nutritious foods by 2030 (2020 baseline)
through its Food for Good food security program and the expansion
of PepsiCo's affordable nutrition offerings as part of its PepsiCo
Positive (pep+) journey.
This new goal is in addition to PepsiCo's recently announced
support for the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge, pledging
$100 million in positive agriculture
and food security initiatives by 2030, including training farmers
and helping strengthen agricultural production with plans to
increase crop yields and help ensure a more resilient food
supply.
To achieve these goals, PepsiCo is expanding globally Food for
Good, a childhood nutrition program founded in the United States, by partnering with local
leaders on their needs to develop community-centric solutions
together. The company aims to evolve and expand Food for Good and
this community-centric approach to advance long-term food security
for people of all ages through collaboration with local partners
around the world, by investing in solutions that increase equitable
access to nutritious food and increase productivity and incomes of
small-scale farmers. New investments include:
- A $1 million grant to World Food
Programme (WFP) to co-create a multi-country partnership in the
Middle East and North Africa, focusing on improving long-term
food security needs of communities affected by climate change,
conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises. This grant
builds upon a decade-long partnership with WFP.
- The expansion of She Feeds the World, a partnership with CARE
to ensure gender equality and economic empowerment for women
agriculture workers across the globe, into Colombia, Nigeria, Turkey, Thailand and Vietnam in 2022. The program is currently
active in Uganda, Egypt and Peru.
- Quaker is partnering with regional NGOs CARE and Un Kilo de
Ayuda to scale interventions to combat childhood malnourishment,
with programs like Quaker Qrece, a holistic intervention that
provides a specialized food product and education in at-risk
communities in Guatemala and
Mexico. The brand is also
expanding the range of nutritious and affordable products including
the 3 Minutos brand it offers in Mexico. In early 2022, Quaker plans to launch
a new, affordable nutritious product in Nigeria. In Africa, Pioneer Foods will also continue to
grow their portfolio of affordable, nutritious options.
"The world is facing a dire global hunger crisis, which has only
been exacerbated by the pandemic," said Jon
Banner, Executive Vice President, PepsiCo Global
Communications and President, The PepsiCo Foundation. "As a leading
global food and beverage company, we have a critical role to play
in realizing a more equitable global food system to ensure the
communities we serve are free from hunger and malnutrition. We are
proud to leverage our global capabilities in collaboration with
local community partners in new ways, but it is just one step in a
long journey toward realizing zero hunger and ensuring a
sustainable future for all."
These global commitments come at a critical time.
Currently, roughly 800 million people around the world are
suffering from hunger and recent estimates show that more than
40% of the world's population cannot afford a healthy diet.
This increased number of people suffering from malnourishment are
at a greater risk of COVID-19 infection and death.
"We are grateful to PepsiCo for their decade-long partnership
and steadfast support as we work to defeat global hunger," said
World Food Program USA President
and CEO Barron Segar. "PepsiCo's
critical investments in sustainable agriculture and building the
resilience of small-scale farmers are helping us make great
progress in addressing the root causes of hunger."
During the pandemic, PepsiCo supported more than 1,000
communities across the world, providing more than $71 million in funding and donations and more
than 145 million meals to those in need. For more than a decade,
PepsiCo has advanced food security by solving unique challenges
faced by local communities. By bringing all its regional
nutrition-related programs under Food for Good, PepsiCo will be
able to better leverage their global capabilities and strive to
reach their goal of making nutritious food readily accessible to
more than 50 million people by 2030.
Additional Food for Good programs includes a meal delivery
initiative spanning across Latin
America, Europe,
Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle
East and Asia Pacific, a
nutrition education program for students in rural China, a nutritious school breakfast service
for students in South Africa,
positive agriculture programs in southern Mexico, as well as investment in increased
capabilities of food banks around the world.
In Europe, programs include
partnerships with food banks to nourish communities by donating
meals and building critical distribution infrastructure, as well as
development projects to provide long-term food security for
regional agricultural workers. Programs have already launched in
Poland, Germany, Spain, Turkey
and Russia with more to follow
over the coming months.
Over the past year, PepsiCo has accelerated its efforts to help
make the food system more sustainable, regenerative and
inclusive. PepsiCo recently launched its most ambitious effort
yet by embracing a bold new approach called pep+ (pep
Positive) – a strategic end-to-end transformation, with
sustainability at the center of how the company
will create growth and value by operating within
planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for the planet
and people.
To learn more about the pep+ agenda, please visit
www.pepsico.com/pepsicopositive. For more information about
PepsiCo's food security work and how other organizations can join
forces with Food for Good, please go to pepsicofoodforgood.com.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion
times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the
world. PepsiCo generated more than $70
billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary
food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade,
Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, Tropicana, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product
portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages,
including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient
Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose"
reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and
embed purpose into all aspects of our business strategy and
brands. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
About The PepsiCo Foundation
Established in 1962, The PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic
arm of PepsiCo, invests in the essential elements of a sustainable
food system with a mission to support thriving communities. Working
with non-profits and experts around the globe, we're focused on
helping communities obtain access to food security, safe water and
economic opportunity. We strive for tangible impact in the places
where we live and work—collaborating with industry peers, local and
international organizations, and our employees to affect
large-scale change on the issues that matter to us and are of
global importance. Learn more at
www.pepsico.com/sustainability/philanthropy.