4 ways PepsiCo is connecting hearts, tables and communities

Giving Tuesday is more than a date on the calendar — it’s a global call to action at a time when millions of families are struggling to put food on the table. Around the world, food insecurity remains a very real challenge, felt even more deeply during the holidays.

That’s why PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation are partnering with local organizations to deliver meals and resources and offer hope. Here are some of the ways they’re helping more families thrive today while building a stronger tomorrow.

1. Making access to food easier across the U.S.

Food insecurity affects more than 47 million Americans — and for many, the biggest hurdle isn’t scarcity — it’s access. Many families face transportation hurdles that make visiting a food bank difficult or even impossible. To help bridge that gap, the PepsiCo Foundation is working with Feeding America and their local network of food banks to bring support directly into the heart of communities through mobile food pantries in cities across the U.S., including New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.

These mobile units do more than drop off fresh and shelf-stable groceries — they remove a critical barrier by bringing food directly to families where they live. With that stress lifted, families can focus on what really matters: nourishing themselves and their loved ones. And with the PepsiCo Foundation’s Food for Good program, which will contribute approximately 40,000 meals this holiday season, that support comes at just the right time, when so many households feel the pressure most.

Food for Good helps nonprofits year-round by managing the complex work of sourcing, packing and shipping meals — especially for people in rural or hard-to-reach areas. During the holidays, they add a special Holiday Box that can be delivered to homes or picked up at community hubs, helping nonprofits with limited staff or storage reach families during the holidays and beyond.

“Every family deserves access to nutritious food,” says C.D. Glin, President of the PepsiCo Foundation and Global Head of Social Impact at PepsiCo. “Together, we’re helping families access food with dignity right where they live.”

2. Creating full circle giving moments

Now in its fifth year, PepsiCo’s Community Impact Awards continue to put local communities at the center of change. This year, each of the 103 nonprofit winners across North America are receiving a $10,000 micro-grant to help advance food access, safe water, farming and workforce development. What sets this program apart is that PepsiCo associates nominate the organizations, which then host volunteer opportunities for employees — creating a meaningful cycle of giving and engagement. 

Recently in Detroit, a PepsiCo associate led an event with Forgotten Harvest, a 2025 Community Impact Awards winner. Volunteers prepared almost 150,000 pounds of food to create hundreds of meals for families in need. “This partnership highlights how individual passion, combined with corporate support, can create meaningful change in our communities,” says Efrain Bautista, a PepsiCo Supply Chain associate.

In Chicago, PepsiCo associates teamed up to refresh a rooftop vegetable garden that supplies ingredients for meals at the Center on Halsted, also a 2025 Community Impact Awards winner.

“During a time when philanthropy is projected to decrease on a national scale, I am humbled and grateful that a PepsiCo associate — and the entire company — believes in and supports our mission to affirm LGBTQ+ individuals and allies,” says Joli Robinson, CEO of Center on Halsted.

3. Building a global network of volunteer opportunities

Holiday Hunger is more than a seasonal volunteer effort — it’s a moment when PepsiCo associates worldwide come together to help families end the year with nutritious meals and essential items. Launched by the PepsiCo Foundation in 2023, the initiative brings together meal packing, food drives, and locally led volunteer events supported by micro-grants.

Last year, more than 1,000 associates across 13 countries helped deliver over 200,000 meals, demonstrating the compassion and commitment at the core of PepsiCo’s people-first culture.

In partnership with the China Population Welfare Foundation (CPWF) and Give2Asia, PepsiCo China recently organized a Holiday Hunger initiative to provide food support to seniors in need. And in Spain, volunteers participated in “Gran Recapte del Banc dels Aliments,” making a meaningful impact in the fight against food insecurity. 

Whether it’s food packing events or handing out hot meals, Holiday Hunger is bringing community members together to feed families so they can learn, grow and thrive.

4. Driving change through digital innovations

In collaboration with the PepsiCo Foundation, Food Bank Madrid now runs on a modern digital backbone that makes everything faster, smarter, and more efficient. Handling more than four million pounds of food each month as Europe’s largest food bank, the organization has boosted volunteering by 18% and drawn in new partner organizations — showing how innovations like a new website and digital tools can help strengthen food security and build more resilient communities.

“The great positive impact, both internally and externally, shows that these types of collaborations between private companies and NGOs are necessary to build a more sustainable and equitable food system," says Iker Ganuza, General Manager, PepsiCo Spain.

This digital transformation earned the food bank’s highest honor on its 30th anniversary. PepsiCo’s Digital Hub and IT teams played a key role throughout the journey, helping turn big ideas into practical solutions. And the momentum is still growing. Food Bank Madrid’s success has become a blueprint now being applied at Food Bank Barcelona, supporting 120,000 vulnerable people every day, where digital innovations are increasing volunteering by more than 10%.