GENYOUth and PepsiCo: An employee-engagement model for school wellness.
As cherished partners, PepsiCo and PepsiCo Foundation have been steadfast supporters of GENYOUth since its inception. In fact, PepsiCo’s commitment to global initiatives of importance around hunger, nutrition, and wellness were important factors in GENYOUth’ selection of PepsiCo for its coveted Vanguard Award in 2018.
GENYOUth and PepsiCo: An employee-engagement model for school wellness.
As cherished partners, PepsiCo and PepsiCo Foundation have been steadfast supporters of GENYOUth since its inception. In fact, PepsiCo’s commitment to global initiatives of importance around hunger, nutrition, and wellness were important factors in GENYOUth’ selection of PepsiCo for its coveted Vanguard Award in 2018.
PepsiCo’s winning-with-purpose philosophy has been a shining example for global corporations in a changing environment. And the corporation’s support of GENYOUth – which has taken the form of everything from an early Quaker Oats partnership for breakfast-equipment grants to schools . . . to support for the creation of the Spanish-language version of our flagship program, Fuel Up to Play 60 en Español — has been vital to our work.
Most recently, PepsiCo has been working with GENYOUth to increase access to and participation in school breakfast. PepsiCo’s Healthy Living Initiative “Ready, Step, Move…Give!” is an employee-wellness walking program in which employee steps taken are converted to dollars – which are then donated to GENYOUth to purchase and place Grab ‘n’ Go breakfast carts for schools nationwide.
Why breakfast carts? The reality is that school-meal programs are a lifeline for children in under-resourced communities. One out of six children under age 18 lives in a food-insecure household, where the family doesn’t have consistent access to adequate food. And over 9 million low-income children miss school breakfasts every day. For some kids, a school meal may be the only nutritious meal they receive.
Students who eat school breakfast have been shown to have lower obesity rates, achieve higher scores on standardized math tests, and attend 1.5 more days of school per year. And national research has revealed that alternative school breakfast models are the most impactful approach to increasing participation in school breakfast.
That’s where breakfast carts come in. The carts help overcome hurdles association with school breakfast in the cafeteria including lack of time and stigma. The GENYOUth alternative breakfast cart system includes a breakfast kiosk, Point of Sale equipment, and coolers for transporting food. The carts serve as a turnkey, sustainable solution for serving nutritious breakfast meals to students and are also often used for lunch, after school, and for summer meals.
Now in its third year, the joint PepsiCo-GENYOUth venture around breakfast carts has been a win-win both for PepsiCo employees and America’s students, as a quick snapshot of “Ready, Step, Move…Give!” results (2017-19) shows:
- High-need schools served:110
- Number of states involved:22
- Grab-n-Go Breakfast Carts provided: 110
- Number of students impacted:over 60,000
- Number of school breakfast opportunities created:over 10 million
GENYOUth is proud to be working with this forward-thinking, 21st-century corporate leader in creating cultures of wellness in schools and communities across the country, and ensuring the academic and life success of healthy, high-achieving youth!