PepsiCo India said on Monday that along with its philanthropic arm, the PepsiCo Foundation, it has committed to provide over five million meals to support families impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak.
This initiative is part of PepsiCo’s #GiveMealsGiveHope global programme, the company said in a release on Monday. The company is also extending support to the healthcare and diagnostic facilities, supplementing their efforts to combat the pandemic by providing 25,000 Covid-19 testing kits, it said.
Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India said: “India, like the rest of the world, is facing an unprecedented challenge. We at PepsiCo India are fully committed to supporting the nation in its fight against Covid-19. Providing meals to the economically weaker sections and testing kits to the diagnostic units are critical requirements at this stage. PepsiCo India will be activating its NGO partners - Akshaya Patra Foundation, Smile Foundation and Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), to provide over 5 million meals and 25,000 Covid-19 testing kits across the country.”
PepsiCo India has partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation to provide cooked meals to the underserved communities, through their centralized kitchens where it is partnering closely with the local authorities for distribution of meals. PepsiCo India has also partnered with Smile Foundation to provide dry food rations to support meals for over 8,000 vulnerable families adversely impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak, it said.
PepsiCo India has partnered with Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), to provide 25,000 Covid-19 testing kits. FIND, a non-profit organization, is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) collaborating centre for laboratory strengthening and diagnostic technology evaluation. It works closely with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
These testing kits will be deployed across public and private healthcare laboratories identified by the Indian Government to scale up access to Covid-19 testing, it said.