CHICAGO, May 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pearl Milling Company, maker of the 132-year-old pancake mix and syrup products previously found under the Aunt Jemima name, today announced its community funding initiative as part of the brand's commitment to support the Black community. P.E.A.R.L. Pledge is a multi-year program focused on championing the empowerment and success of Black women and girls across the country. In its inaugural year, the brand will award $1 million in grants to nonprofit organizations helping to fulfill this mission.

As part of its rebranding journey, Pearl Milling Company set out to fulfill two promises: to continue delivering the same great-tasting products families have enjoyed for over a century and to inspire moments that matter around the breakfast table and in communities. With a commitment to community impact, the brand developed P.E.A.R.L. Pledge (Prosperity, Empowerment, Access, Representation and Leadership) as a platform to help address societal barriers faced by Black women and girls.

Recognizing the importance of Black women in the brand's history, P.E.A.R.L. Pledge will focus on providing funding to organizations helping to meet the significant needs facing Black women and girls today, such as gaps in food security and inadequate access to financial and educational resources.

How to Nominate and Apply
In addition to opening applications for eligible nonprofits, Pearl Milling Company is encouraging people to nominate organizations for grants that will range from $25,000 to $100,000. These grants will be awarded based on several factors, including how the chosen organizations will use the funding. Both nominations and applications can be submitted at www.pearlmillingcompany.com/pearlpledge; nominations will close by 11:59 p.m. PST on May 27 and applications will close by 11:59 p.m. PST on June 3.

To help select the grant winners, Pearl Milling Company will work with an Advisory Council comprised of diverse external partners knowledgeable about the needs in the Black community and who have personally worked to drive change, as well as diverse internal team members at PepsiCo. Grant recipients will be announced on the brand's website this summer.

Addressing issues of inequality and creating opportunities for Black people ladders up to a broader commitment for Pearl Milling Company's parent company PepsiCo. In 2020, PepsiCo announced it will invest more than $400 million over five years focused on increasing Black representation at PepsiCo, supporting Black-owned businesses, and lifting up Black communities in the U.S. As an extension of PepsiCo's Racial Equality Journey efforts, P.E.A.R.L. Pledge adds to PepsiCo's community investment, which together with The PepsiCo Foundation, includes providing $6.5 million in community impact grants, $10 million to support Black-owned restaurants and $5 million to launch a Leader Development Fellowship Program.

For more information about P.E.A.R.L. Pledge, visit www.pearlmillingcompany.com/pearlpledge and follow Pearl Milling Company on social media at www.facebook.com/pearlmillingcompany and www.instagram.com/pearlmillingcompany/ for updates on the program.

About Pearl Milling Company
Pearl Milling Company, owned by The Quaker Oats Company, a unit of PepsiCo, Inc., provides great tasting pancake mixes, syrups, cornmeal, flour, and grits products that have been helping families create memorable breakfast moments for over a century. Founded in 1888, Pearl Milling Company began as a small mill in St. Joseph, Missouri producing flour, cornmeal and, beginning in 1889, the famous self-rising pancake mix that would go on to be known as Aunt Jemima. Its pancake mix varieties include Original, Buttermilk, Whole Wheat, Cap'n Crunch's Berrytastic Pancake Mix, as well as its Pancake On The Go products in Chocolate Chip and Buttermilk & Maple. Syrup varieties include Original, Lite, Butter Rich, Butter Lite, and Country Rich, in addition to several cornmeal, cornmeal mix and grits offerings. For more information, please visit www.pearlmillingcompany.com, www.facebook.com/pearlmillingcompany or follow us on Instagram @pearlmillingcompany.

About The Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company, headquartered in Chicago, is a unit of PepsiCo, Inc., one of the world's largest consumer packaged goods companies. For more than 140 years, Quaker's brands have served as symbols of quality, great taste and nutrition. Quaker® Oats, Quaker® Rice Cakes and Quaker Chewy® Granola Bars are consumer favorites. For more information, please visit www.QuakerOats.com, www.Facebook.com/Quaker or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @Quaker.

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 the business.  For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

Quaker.Foodsmedia@pepsico.com

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SOURCE The Quaker Oats Company