PepsiCo India, in partnership with Smile Foundation, on May 26 started an initiative to provide food to underprivileged communities in Guwahati who are affected by the nationwide lockdown enforced due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The programme, supported by the global food and beverage company’s philanthropic arm, PepsiCo Foundation, was flagged off by Guwahati Development department minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya on May 26.
The #GiveMealsGiveHope program will provide over 2.5 lakh meals to the underprivileged communities. The key locations in which the program will be launched include Noonmati, Lokhra, Chandrapur Bagicha and Goalpara.
Speaking on the occasion, Siddhartha Bhattacharya said, “We are amid unfortunate times. The government, private sector and individuals need to come together to fight the outbreak of COVID-19. It is important to ensure that the marginalised societies are catered to. We would like to thank PepsiCo India for stepping up and volunteering to help the underprivileged communities in Assam.”
Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India, said, “India, like the rest of the world is going through challenging times. In Assam, the government has done a commendable work to launch many initiatives to curtail COVID-19 outbreak. Contributing to the government’s efforts, we are reaching out to the underserved families in Assam to help them with meals.”
Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Trustee, Smile Foundation said, “We are happy to partner with PepsiCo India for a meal distribution programme in Assam. Through this initiative, we will distribute food kits to support a five-member family for at least one month. We are glad that this partnership has helped us carry out relief work in some of the most vulnerable sections of the society across the nation.”
Under the #GiveMealsGiveHope global program PepsiCo has committed to distribute over 10 million meals to communities most impacted by COVID-19 outbreak in India. These meals are being distributed in partnership with Akshaya Patra Foundation, Smile Foundation & CII Foundation, across the country.
