As back-to-school costs surge, program will support critical school resource rooms across seven cities

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK / ACCESSWIRE / August 24, 2023 / To support students in underserved communities, Frito-Lay and Feed the Children are launching the fourth year of 'Building the Future Together' in seven key cities across the U.S. To kick off this year's partnership, the organizations are teaming up with Detroit Public Schools Community District on Thursday, Aug. 24, for a community distribution event serving 400 families.

'Building the Future Together' is a program launched in partnership between Feed the Children, a leading nonprofit focused on alleviating childhood hunger, and Frito-Lay. The program supplements school meals with shelf-stable food items while also providing school supplies, personal care products and books. With back-to-school costs expected to be more expensive than ever, the program not only provides much-needed assistance to local Detroit students, but also provides additional support throughout the school year. Underserved school districts across Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Orlando and Phoenix will benefit from the initiative again this year.

Building the Future Together Resource Rooms have become a safety net for many families, providing consistent access to both food and hygiene items. For participating schools where nearly eight in 10 students qualify for free school meals, the impact observed by schools has been significant:

• 63% noticed an increase in school attendance among students

• 38% saw an increase in student confidence
• 63% reported an increase in student engagement
• 25% observed an improvement in student grades

'The Souper Pantries at Marshall & Robinson Elementary have allowed our department to provide immediate support to those who most need it,' said Prentiss L Collins Jr., Manager of Wraparound Services at Houston Independent School District. 'Having direct access to food and hygiene items allows our Wrapround Specialist to meet the needs of students and their families, which ensures they are happy and healthy to attend school every day. This has even more impact during crisis situations where loss of employment or health situations can really affect families.'

Frito-Lay and Feed the Children are hoping to continue the success the program saw during the 2022-23 school year. Since its inception, the Building the Future Together initiative has served more than 110,000 families in cities across the U.S. Through this program, Frito-Lay and Feed the Children have provided nearly 1.5 million pounds of resources such as household essentials, books and products provided by Frito-Lay, PepsiCo and Kroger - valued at nearly $12 million. These items have supplemented more than 775,000 meals.

'At Frito-Lay, we are deeply committed to helping our communities thrive as a long-time and proud employer in these markets and across the U.S.,' said Rachel Hibbs, Regional Vice President, Frito-Lay North America. 'We know that our communities only flourish when its people are supported and we are proud to continue to advance our storied history of helping others as a founding partner in the ‘Building the Future Together' program, tackling food insecurity and ensuring our youth have the necessary resources to succeed.'

'Hunger and food insecurity are often invisible,' said Travis Arnold, Feed the Children president and CEO. 'We rarely know what someone else is going through, which is why we need to take care of our neighbors. Feed the Children is thankful for the partnership with Frito-Lay and their support of the Building the Future Together program as we tackle the important issue of childhood hunger.'

About Frito-Lay North America

Frito-Lay North America, Inc. is the $23 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Frito-Lay snacks include Lay's® and Ruffles® potato chips, Doritos® and Tostitos® tortilla chips and branded dips, Cheetos® snacks, Stacy's® pita chips, PopCorners® popped-corn snack, SunChips® multigrain snacks and Fritos® corn chips. The company operates 30+ manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and Canada, more than 200 distribution centers and services 315,000 retail customers per week through its direct-store-delivery model. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, www.fritolay.com, on Twitter (@fritolay), on Instagram (@fritolay) and on Facebook (Frito-Lay).

About Feed the Children

At Feed the Children, we feed hungry kids. We envision a world where no child goes to bed hungry. In the U.S. and internationally, we are dedicated to helping families and communities achieve stable lives and to reducing the need for help tomorrow, while providing food and resources to help them today. We distribute product donations from corporate donors to local community partners, we provide support for teachers and students, and we mobilize resources quickly to aid recovery efforts when natural disasters strike. Internationally, we manage child-focused community development programs in eight countries. We welcome partnerships because we know our work would not be possible without collaborative relationships. Visit feedthechildren.org for more information.

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For more information:

Carrie Snodgrass
405-213-9757
carrie.snodgrass@feedthechildren.org

SOURCE: Feed the Children