NE BUSINESS BUREAU
HIMMATNAGAR, SEPT 17
As part of its continued efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, PepsiCo India on Tuesday announced its commitment to provide hygiene kits to the farmer community in Himmatnagar, Gujarat. Ensuring the well-being and safety of farmers who have been braving the challenging times head-on, hygiene kits being distributed will include both masks and sanitisers – both being essential in the fight against COVID-19, a company release said.
Additionally, to create awareness within the farmer communities on the best hygiene practices, PepsiCo India is also conducting special on-ground programmes focused on handwashing procedures, wearing masks properly, and practicing preventive measures like social distancing.
Pratap Bose, Agro Director, PepsiCo India, said, “We at PepsiCo India are grateful to all our farmer friends who have been working tirelessly and risking COVID-19 to ensure food being available on our tables. They truly are the unsung heroes of India. It is they who despite the challenging times, have kept going, without seeking any praise or pat on their backs. Being an agri company at heart and sharing a strong relationship with over 27,000 farmers across India, PepsiCo India acknowledges and deeply appreciates all the efforts being put by our farmer friends to feed us and our families. The distribution of hygiene kits and organizing awareness drives on health and safety is our little way to thank all our farmer friends.”
Community assistance effort
From the outset of the pandemic, PepsiCo India has actively been stepping upon its community support programmes which included providing over 10 million meals to the underserved communities and also making available over 35,000 COVID test kits to various government labs and hospitals. The effort involved PepsiCo India partnering with leading NGOs like Akshaya Patra Foundation, Smile Foundation, CII Foundation, Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND). The entire programme was rolled out in 13 states, including Gujarat.