PepsiCo Australia has donated $480,000 to Foodbank Australia, as well as pledging $72 million globally, to help those facing food insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Foodbank Australia has experienced a 50 per cent increase in the number of people needing support over the past month during the coronavirus crisis, as more people seek food resources and meals.
Foodbank Australia CEO Brianna Casey said the organisation has had an increase in demand for its services, jumping from 815,000 people per month in a “normal” period, to more than 1.2 million.
“Foodbank needs to scale up urgently to respond to the unprecedented increase in the number of food insecure Australians and help them for as long as they may need it,” said Casey.
“We are incredibly grateful to our long-standing partner, PepsiCo, for the generous donation that will help us meet this growing demand and enable us to provide almost one million nutritious meals to individuals and families in-need across the country.”
PepsiCo Australia has also donated $100,000 worth of its products to frontline healthcare workers, as well as NZ$330,000 to the New Zealand Salvation Army Foodbank.
The company is also encouraging its employees to donate to The COVID Double Matching Gift Program, which will see the PepsiCo Foundation double match employee donations, (up to $2 million) to selected organisations to provide further support to those communities impacted by COVID -19.
