PepsiCo is investing £210,000 (US$276,539.3) to tackle food waste and employability in the UK by extending its partnership with food redistribution charity FareShare. The grant will be used to help farmers to divert surplus vegetables to schools and mentor individuals for job support.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the UK generates nearly 12.3 million metric tons of food waste each year. This weighs heavily on the environment, with combined greenhouse gas emissions associated with food waste on farms in the country’s production and imports being around 15.3 metric tons CO2e. 

The food giant’s philanthropic arm, the PepsiCo Foundation, will provide the funding throughout this year. It will also support the Leicestershire employability program.

PepsiCo has collaborated with FareShare for over seven years to tackle hunger and food waste. It has provided over 2,200 metric tons of surplus and donated products to UK charities since December 2017. These are then turned into meals for “vital wraparound services,” including after-school and breakfast clubs.

Jason Richards, SVP and general manager of PepsiCo UK & Ireland, believes the funding will give jobseekers the “leg up they need to succeed while also transforming surplus food into meals for charities and community groups across the UK.”

Surplus to sustainable

The food waste management and job support programs align with PepsiCo Positive, PepsiCo’s health and sustainability plan that encourages positive action for the planet and people. 

The plan includes working closely with more than 290 farmers across the UK on various programs and trials to help scale regenerative farming practices, as part of its Positive Agriculture strategy.

“We’re encouraging growers in our network to sign up to the scheme as an extension of our work toward a more sustainable food system,” says Richards.

Meanwhile, Kirsty Ford, head of fundraising at FairShare, believes the continued partnership with PepsiCo will help the organization tap the “power of surplus food” to deliver greater impact to communities across the UK.

“While so much edible food goes to waste on our farms every year, FareShare’s Surplus with Purpose scheme ensures farmers can get more of this good-to-eat nutritious fresh produce to people, rather than letting it go to waste.”

PepsiCo has undertaken various sustainability initiatives in recent years. In 2023, it doubled its regenerative farming footprint to 1.8 million acres and partnered with Walmart on a seven-year US$120 million initiative to improve soil health and water quality in the US and Canada through farmer support.