PepsiCo Foundation to expand U.S. food aid program globally

At the start of the pandemic, the need for the food Jaron Barganier’s nonprofit, Be a Champion, provides to kids throughout Texas exploded

At the start of the pandemic, the need for the food that Jaron Barganier’s nonprofit provides to children throughout Texas exploded.

Not only did many children lose the free breakfasts and lunches they had normally received at their schools, which were closed because of the COVID-19 outbreak. What's more, Barganier’s nonprofit, Be a Champion, lost its access to those schools — and, more important to the food supplies, their refrigerators and freezers — as distribution hubs.

With demand having more than tripled to about 100,000 meals a day, Barganier turned for help to The PepsiCo Foundation’s Food for Good.

“They basically created a way for us to serve our kids outside,” said Barganier, Be a Champion’s CEO. “When they learned some of these families don’t even have access to refrigeration at home, they created a shelf-stable menu of products.”