Oct. 29, 2024 — Halton Food for Thought

Halton Food for Thought is proud to announce we have been granted one of PepsiCo Foundation’s 2024 Community Impact Awards. The PepsiCo Foundation is the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, Inc., one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies. The program is a part of the company’s efforts to support local communities by providing resources for valuable programming, such as student nutrition programs.

Halton Food for Thought is one of 100 public charities and organizations across the United States and Canada to receive a $7,500 Community Impact Award for their hard work and commitment to the communities they serve. Through strategic partnerships, such as the Community Impact Awards, the PepsiCo Foundation aspires to provide lasting change by tackling the challenges of inequality whether it be through access to economic opportunity, clean water, or food security.

“Halton Food for Thought has been working in partnership with the community for almost 30 years connecting 95,000 Halton students to healthy food at school daily to help them reach their full potential. Through the support of community programs such as PepsiCo Foundation Community Impact Award, we are able to offer students from junior kindergarten to grade 12 across Halton a reliable source of healthy food at school every day, to ensure they have access to the nutrients they need to fuel their day ahead,” Aliya Khawari, executive director of Halton Food for Thought said. “The demand for our programs continues to rise due to rising food costs and rapid growth within the region. We are very thankful to receive this award to help meet the growing needs of our programs to support students across Halton.”

“At the PepsiCo Foundation, we believe that the strength of our communities lies in the hands of local leaders and nonprofit organizations who understand the unique local social challenges and opportunities of their community. The PepsiCo Foundation Community Impact Awards allow us to celebrate these trailblazers who are driving meaningful change in our communities across North America,” PepsiCo Foundation President and Global Head of Social Impact at PepsiCo. C.D. Glin said. “We invited PepsiCo employees to nominate local organizations of their choice and our employee’s most admired nonprofits were selected as Community Impact Award recipients. We are honoured to work alongside these inspiring organizations to amplify their efforts to create lasting positive social impacts across North America.”

The Foundation’s dedication to partnering with local nonprofits stems from its understanding that these organizations are deeply rooted in the communities where PepsiCo employees live and work. By collaborating with local partners, the Foundation can more effectively address community-specific needs and leverage the unique strengths of each organization to foster local, leading, and lasting solutions.

Halton Food for Thought has been feeding Halton students for almost three decades. Started by a grassroots group of parents who noticed that not every child at school had food in their lunch box or that many kids had food that didn’t contain enough nutrients to fuel their minds and bodies for learning. Today, Halton Food for Thought has partner programs in 152 Halton schools, providing approximately 95,000 Halton students access to nutritious food at school — reaching 93% of Halton students. Our programs are facilitated by over 1,600 volunteers who work with Halton Food for Thought staff and partner schools to feed students in their communities. To learn more about the work of Halton Food for Thought visit our website: www.haltonfoodforthought.com.