PepsiCo : Groundbreaking ‘Food for Good’ Program to Provide Millions of Servings to Low-Income Children This Year
July 15, 2014 at 01:33 pm EDT
Share
PepsiCo's Groundbreaking 'Food for Good' Program to Provide Millions of Servings to Low-Income Children This Year
Food for Good program expands to a total of eight cities.
Through its "Food for Good" initiative, PepsiCo expects to deliver over 5 million healthy servings to low-income kids this year. The 2014 summer push kicked off on June 9 serving over 25,000 meals across the country on the first day.
The need for this program is urgent-and growing.
One in five children in the U.S. struggle with hunger. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 23 million Americans live in "food deserts"-geographic areas where fresh, healthy and affordable food is difficult to access.
That's why PepsiCo set out to create scalable solutions to address nutrition and poverty in inner-city communities. The current models include summer and afterschool meal programs, community-run farm stands, and other pilot programs to make healthy food accessible for low-income families year-round.
PepsiCo's Food for Good initiative has delivered approximately 11 million servings to inner-city children since 2009.
"When the school year ends, and most school cafeterias close for the summer, underserved children still need a nutritious lunch-and that's where Food for Good plays a vital role in each of the communities we serve," said Matt Smith, senior manager, PepsiCo Food for Good.
In 2009, Food for Good was conceived by PepsiCo associates - in collaboration with community leaders - as a way to try to address this challenge.
PepsiCo is leveraging its world-class capabilities-from food-distribution expertise to innovations in refrigeration and food preservation-to create a social enterprise that makes fresh, healthy foods accessible for low-income families.
The summer and afterschool meals that Food for Good distributes meet USDA standards and ensure a balanced diet with whole grains, dairy and fruits and vegetables.
In addition to Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, Little Rock and Detroit, the program has expanded to three new cities this summer: Waco, Oklahoma City and Denver.
PepsiCo, Inc. is one of the worldwide leaders in producing non-alcoholic beverages and snacks. Net sales break down by area of activity as follows:
- North America (60.8%): sale of beverages (49.7% of net sales; sodas, concentrated juices, water, tea and coffee-based beverages; Aquafina, Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Gatorade, Gatorade Zero, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Propel brands, etc.), snacks (44.7%; chips, tortillas and pretzels; Lay's, Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, Fritos, Ruffles, etc.), and cereals (5.6%; ready-to-eat cereals, rice, wheat, etc.);
- Europe (14.5%): sale of snacks (Cheetos, Chipita, Doritos, Lay's, Ruffles and Walkers brands) and beverages (7UP, Diet Pepsi, Lubimy Sad, Mirinda, Pepsi and Pepsi Max);
- Latin America (12.7%): sales of snacks (Cheetos, Doritos, Emperador, Lay's, Mabel, Marias Gamesa, Ruffles, Sabritas, Saladitas and Tostitos brands) and beverages (7UP, Gatorade, H2oh!, Manzanita Sol, Mirinda, Pepsi, Pepsi Black, San Carlos and Toddy)
- Asia/Pacific/Australia/New Zealand (6.7%): sale of snacks (BaiCaoWei, Cheetos, Doritos, Lay's and Smith's brands), beverages and syrups (7UP, Aquafina, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Pepsi and Sting);
- Africa/Middle East/South Asia (5.3%): sale of snacks (Chipsy, Doritos, Kurkure, Lay's, Sasko, Spekko and White Star brands) and beverages (7UP, Aquafina, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Pepsi).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (57%), Mexico (7.7%), Canada (4.1%), Russia (3.9%), China (3%), the United Kingdom (2.1%), Brazil (1.9%), South Africa (1.9%) and other (18.4%).
PEPSICO, INC. 
