The food and beverages giant , Pepsico announced its partnership with Akshaya Patra Foundation to supply cooked meals, and partnered with Smile Foundation for providing dry food ration over 8,000 vulnerable families affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
PepsiCo India, alongside with its parent company’s humanitarian unit, PepsiCo Foundation, has decided to provide 25,000 testing kits for COVID-19 and over 5 million meals to support families affected by the coronavirus outbreak in India.
This action comes as concerned initiative from PepsiCo’s global programme called ‘Give Meals, Give Hope’. Further to this programme, PepsiCo India has associated with non-profit organization “Foundation of Innovative New Diagnostics” (FIND) for providing 25,000 testing kits to test for COVID-19. These testing kits will be positioned across public and private healthcare laboratories recognized by the Indian government to scale up access to COVID-19 testing.
Stating that India, like the rest of the world, is facing an unprecedented challenge, PepsiCo India President Ahmed ElSheikh said, “Providing meals to the economically weaker sections and testing kits to the diagnostic units are critical requirements at this stage.”
ElSheikh added, “The company stands committed to lending its full support to both the central and state governments in their fight to collectively overcome the global health challenge”.
PepsiCo globally has declared its assurance to fight the deadly pandemic. The major focus of this global effort comprises by providing protective gear to all the healthcare workers, testing and screening services as well as providing 50 million meals acquired through various partnerships.