The traditional Tet festival in Việt Nam is approaching. In its spirit, the “Millions of Meals” programme, initiated by PepsiCo Vietnam, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverages in partnership with the Central Committee of Vietnam Youth Federation and sponsored by PepsiCo’s philanthropic arm, the PepsiCo Foundation, has provided 93,400 meals for SOS Children’s Villages and flood-hit households in the Central Provinces to help them overcome immediate and long-term impacts.

In October 2020, a series of floods and natural disasters impacted Central Việt Nam and affected children at SOS Vinh, Đồng Hới, Huế, Đà Nẵng, putting at risk vulnerable communities across four provinces from Nghệ An to Quảng Nam.

Supporting meals for flood-hit children in Quang Nam, Da Nang

The relief efforts targeted these vulnerable communities. PepsiCo’s “Millions of Meals” programme in partnership with SOS Vietnam supported the distribution of meals for those who are living in SOS centers and Youth Dormitories SOS Đồng Hới, Huế. There are 700 households with children aided by this programme, supporting families located in several provinces and cities such as Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam and Nghệ An.

700 households with children are aided by this program, supporting families located in several provinces and cities

The distribution of meals took place from January 18 to 23. Each family received 100 meals, totaling over 93,000 ready-to-eat meals. Items included in the meals are 25kg bag of rice, 1kg dried pork, 5 fish cans, 2 litre oil cans, 2kg sugar, 2kg salt and three boxes of instant noodles. The programme lifted the spirits of these communities in anticipation of the Lunar New Year and sought to improve the living standards of people who experienced losses and damage from natural disasters in Nghệ An, Quảng Bình, Thừa Thiên Huế, Đà Nẵng and Quảng Nam.

“Millions of Meals” responds to the Prime Minister's “No one is left behind” initiative. It first started in April of 2020. To date, the programme has provided nearly 540,000 meals for 37,000 residents affected by COVID-19, with an approximate investment of VNĐ8 billion. Furthermore, in November of 2020, the Million Meals programme ran the “Share love” campaign providing an additional 150,000 meals for 9,000 people in six Central provinces to help support their hardships during the natural disasters.

Mr. Sudipto Mozumdar, General Manager of PepsiCo Vietnam and Thailand, said: “It is our honour to continuously collaborate with preeminent partners in implementing “Millions of Meals”. Through this programme, we believe not only SOS Vietnam but also Central residents will have a warm Tet festival after being impacted by natural disasters. Thanks to the fund from PepsiCo Foundation, PepsiCo Vietnam and partners have joined hands to “Leave no one behind” during the COVID-19 pandemic. The more our initiative spreads widely, the more meals will be delivered to children and residents across Việt Nam”.