Beverage giant PepsiCo is on a mission to ensure quality food for all  

If you’re someone who closely follow world affairs, you would be aware of the growing hunger crisis that has taken over the globe. Estimates suggest that about 345 million people are affected by food shortage worldwide. In fact, this number would only go up, thanks to a war-induced inflation, climate change and a pandemic that refuse to leave anytime soon. 

Keeping this in mind, PepsiCo and its philanthropic arm PepsiCo Foundation have come forward to tackle the increasing global food insecurity. Their aim is to double the access to nutritious food among one and all.  

PepsiCo and its fight against global food shortage 
For those of you who don’t know, PepsiCo isn’t new in the domain of global food security. In fact, for the past decade, it has been collaborating with various communities and organisations to ensure food security worldwide. For instance, in 2021 alone, the Food for Good venture has contributed an amount equivalent to USD 35 million, not only to provide ready and equitable access to good food, but also enhance productivity and income of farmers.  

Currently, the company is focussing on building long-term solutions while catering to immediate hunger needs. PepsiCo has partnered with World Food Programme (the food-assistance branch of United Nations) and CARE, besides other local NGOs for the purpose. One of their key focal areas among others is empowering women financially. That is why PepsiCo is offering them regenerative agricultural opportunities. It is also taking several other ground-level initiatives to help the more vulnerable communities spread across Africa, Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. This beverage giant intends to support as many as 3.5 million farmers and their families by the end of 2024.  

Apart from these initiatives, PepsiCo is also paying special attention to provide healthy, nutritional diet to school students as part of their Food for Good initiative. Take their Pioneer School Breakfast Nutrition Programme for instance. This initiative, which has recently kickstarted in South Africa, deserves a special mention for sure. Several food drives to combat malnutrition among children are also being held in and around Mexico and Guatemala.  

Three-way awareness programme 
Apart from measures to ensure nutrition to one and all, global food security and shortage issues need to be addressed through mass awareness programmes. That is what Pepsi is doing. As part of their Food for Good initiative, they have recently introduced a three-way structure to help people understand the global food problem. Let us take you through these initiatives.  

Journey to Zero Hunger: This is a podcast that not only deals with real-world lessons, but also offers potential solutions to the food insecurity prevailing all over the world. It has a panel of distinguished speakers who specialise in food security. One of them is Ertharin Cousin, former Executive Director of the U.N. World Food Programme. 

Food for Good Changemaker: This is a video series that exhibits how community leaders worldwide are dealing with the hunger crisis, and in turn, building resilience among people. The narratives explore both the causes of food insecurity and suggest innovative ways ordinary people can take to tackle them.  

A bagful of healthy foods: FEED, an lifestyle brand, has joined hands with Pepsi’s Food for Good and has come up with an innovative solution with respect to food insecurity. They have developed a limited-edition tote bag that will contain 10 nutritious meals for children around the globe. This initiative will be overseen by three popular organisations, namely: No Hungry Kid, U.N. World Food Programme and Akshaya Patra Foundation.  
 
India Initiatives 
In 2021, India ranked 101 out of 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index. So, it’s no wonder that PepsiCo has extended its hunger crisis measures here as well. Currently, they are running an initiative called Nutrition Enhancement Programme in Punjab. The mission of this initiative is to improve the nutrition of pregnant women, new mothers and kids below the age of six. They also partnered with the SMILE Foundation, to launch the ‘Bowl of Hope’ campaign last year. The company is giving away more than a lakh nutritious bowls of whole grains to the underserved communities of the country.