Food and beverage giant PepsiCo announced a new goal to help 50 million people gain access to nutritious foods by 2030 through its food security program “Food for Good,”, and the expansion of its affordable nutrition offerings as part of its PepsiCo Positive (pep+) strategy.
Launched earlier this year, pep+ is the Pepsico’s broad new sustainability framework that encompasses the company’s sourcing of ingredients, production and sale of products, and inspiration of people through its brands. The framework focuses on three pillars, including Positive Agriculture, Positive Value Chain, and Positive Choices.
According to the company, roughly 800 million people worldwide are suffering from hunger, and more than 40% of the world’s population cannot afford a healthy diet.
PepsiCo’s Food for Good program targets childhood nutrition in the U.S., advancing food security through collaboration with local leaders on their needs to develop community-centric solutions together. The company now aims to expand the program globally, collaborating with local partners around the world, and investing in solutions that increase access to nutritious food and increase productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers.
The company outlined some of its new investments, including a $1 million grant to the World Food Programme (WFP) to improve food security needs for communities affected by climate change, conflict, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises; the expansion of She Feeds the World, a partnership with NGO CARE to ensure gender equality and economic empowerment for women agriculture workers across the globe, and scaling interventions to combat childhood malnourishment through its subsidiary Quaker in partnership with NGOs Care and Un Kilo de Ayuda.
PepsiCo stated that its new goal is in addition to the company’s recently announced support for the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge, pledging $100 million in positive agriculture and food security initiatives by 2030.
Jon Banner, Executive Vice President, PepsiCo Global Communications and President, The PepsiCo Foundation, said:
“The world is facing a dire global hunger crisis, which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. 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.”
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