This Initiative Is Serving 50,000 Bowls of Whole Grain To Underserved Communities

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This article has been published in partnership with PepsiCo India.

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According to Nutrient Requirements for Indians, 2020 by ICMR National Institute of Nutrition, 50% of the cereals we consume should be whole grains.

Far from it, an average Indian diet continues to focus heavily on carbohydrates, with very little whole grains, less protein and lesser fruits and vegetables. So much so that according to a recent scientific publication on a survey conducted by PepsiCo India, millennials in India consumed less than 10% whole grains per day.

This pattern exists due to the lack of awareness, and the same study confirms that by discovering that only 2% of the surveyed respondents knew what whole grains really are.

Hence, in an attempt to remedy this problem and bring about substantial change, PepsiCo India through its brand Quaker is launching the ‘Bowl Of Hope’ initiative to mark the World Whole Grain  Sampling Day on March 31. In line with FSSAI’s Eat Right Movement, the initiative is a week-long awareness program by PepsiCo India, in association with United Way, on the importance and health benefits of whole grains in daily diets.

“Nutrition deficiency poses a real risk to the socio-economic progress of a country. To boost nutrition in the daily diet of Indians, PepsiCo India has been promoting healthy diets and nourishing food through various interventions. The World Whole Grain Sampling Day is a perfect opportunity for us to launch the ‘Bowl of Hope with Quaker’ initiative, which uniquely offers brand contribution and employee volunteerism. We are happy to have the United Way as our partner to drive positive change in society,” says Viraj Chouhan, Chief Government Affairs and Communications Officer, PepsiCo India.

To drive tangible change among the masses, in addition to the awareness programs and sessions to promote whole grains, PepsiCo India’s brand Quaker will serve nutritious whole grains bowls to several underserved communities across Delhi-NCR. They have also been engaging their employees across India to contribute whole grain like ragi, whole wheat, barley, oats, etc. through a special microsite in collaboration with United Way. Through these consolidated efforts, they plan to serve over 50,000 nutritious bowls of whole grains.

At United Way Delhi we strongly believe in mobilising the caring power of communities towards advancing the common good. We are glad to be collaborating with PepsiCo India for the Bowl of Hope campaign on the Wholegrain Sampling Day, says Mr Sachin Golwalkar, CEO, United Way Delhi.

“With the pool of contribution, United Way Delhi will procure and distribute grains to the underserved communities in an attempt to raise awareness on nutrition and wholegrains”, Sachin further added.

As part of the initiative, various awareness sessions will underscore the importance of whole grains in the form of panel discussions, Twitter chats and talks by nutritionists.

PepsiCo India has been dedicated to this goal since 2006, the year when it started its nutrition education program called ‘Get Active’. With its goal to leverage positive change through the youth, many of its awareness programmes and initiatives have reached out to schools across India, impacting the lives of over 2.4 million school children in 477 schools across India.

They now hope to continue this cycle of social transformation with nutritional enrichment through ‘Bowl Of Hope’.