Taste of the NFL and Chunky® Million Meals Challenge To Deliver 125 Million Meals To Food Insecure Students
GENYOUth, NFL and PepsiCo teamed up for first-ever Taste of the NFL @Home livestream event on February 7; thousands tuned in on Super Bowl Sunday to help tackle childhood hunger
NEW YORK, March 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GENYOUth, a national non-profit organization which creates healthier school communities, announced today that proceeds from Taste of the NFL @Home and the Chunky® Million Meals Challenge, two groundbreaking purpose-driven initiatives held in January and February 2021, will support the delivery of over 125 million school meals to food insecure students across the country.
With the pandemic transforming every aspect of Super Bowl LV, Taste of the NFL @Home was completely reimagined as a first-ever virtual, interactive, livestream broadcasted from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The event, which was held on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7, was one of the most accessible and successful Taste of the NFL celebrations ever held in its 30-year history, with thousands of fans "home gating" from their kitchens to benefit GENYOUth's COVID-19 Emergency School Meal Delivery Fund, which is providing schools with grants to purchase equipment and resources needed to feed students during the pandemic.
Hosted by Alexis Glick, GENYOUth CEO, former Fox Business News anchor and Vice President of Business News, and former NBC-TV's "The Today Show" anchor and correspondent, the livestream featured celebrity chefs Carla Hall, Andrew Zimmern, Tim Love and Lasheeda Perry cooking up delicious Super Bowl game day recipes; legendary sports stars Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning and Claressa Shields participating in an exclusive game day "Chalk Talk" moderated by three-time Emmy Award-winning network broadcaster James "JB" Brown; and NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and NFL PLAY 60 Super Kid Amaya Brannon stopping by to show their support for GENYOUth's efforts. Taste of the NFL @Home was an appetizing and fun mix of food and football that put tackling childhood hunger on the day's menu.
"We could never have imagined how successful Taste of the NFL would be this year, with a virtual and unique game day experience that engaged fans everywhere and opened the event up to an exponentially wider audience that was able to attend from home," said Peter O'Reilly, NFL Executive Vice President Club Business & League Events. "By bringing together some of the nation's greatest chefs and sports icons to raise funds on behalf of youth dealing with food insecurity, we are proud of what we accomplished with GENYOUth in Tampa and can't wait to take this virtual experience to the next level at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles."
"At PepsiCo, our mission is to create more smiles with every sip and every bite. This year food insecurity among our most vulnerable children is a growing and constant need. We are proud of our partnership with the NFL and GENYOUth to help increase access to nutritious school meals nationwide," said Steven Williams, CEO, PepsiCo Foods North America.
"We are deeply grateful to all of our partners and supporters who stepped up to help deliver over 125 million meals through Taste of the NFL @Home and the Chunky®, Million Meals Challenge, starting with PepsiCo and including Campbell's® Chunky®, America's Dairy Farmers, the NFL, Doritos®, EA SPORTS and CSL Esports. In addition, we could not have done this without the recipe ingredients provided by BUSH's® Beans, Ocean Spray® Craisin® Dried Cranberries, Kretschmar® Deli Meats from Smithfield Foods, GameDay Vodka and Fresh from Florida oranges," said Alexis Glick, CEO of GENYOUth. "With one in four children at risk of food insecurity, now more than ever schools need our help, and these leaders of consequence are demonstrating why public-private partnerships are so important in moving the needle to battle childhood hunger. We can't wait to top this year's numbers and deliver even more meals as we head into next season and Super Bowl LVI."
Funds raised through Taste of the NFL @Home and the Chunky® Million Meals Challenge will go toward the purchase of equipment and resources urgently needed by schools to deliver meals to the 30 million students who depend on school nutrition daily. As a result of Taste of the NFL @Home efforts, schools who will receive funding to serve meals to their high-need students include this year's host city for Super Bowl LV, Tampa, Florida, as well as the 30 other cities which are home to NFL teams.
Planning is already underway for Taste of the NFL in 2022 in Los Angeles, the Super Bowl's premier culinary experience, with customized sponsorship opportunities available. Contact Maureen Bausch, GENYOUth Chief Development Officer, at [email protected] for sponsorship details.
For more information on GENYOUth, visit www.genyouthnow.org, or to make a one-time donation of $25 to GENYOUth's COVID-19 School Meal Delivery Fund, text TASTE to 20222.
About Taste of the NFL
Since 1992, and every year since, Taste of the NFL has teamed up with many of the country's top chefs and creatively partnered them with the NFL's greatest players to raise money in support of food banks and food insecurity efforts throughout the United States. To date, Taste of the NFL programs and events have raised and donated millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations addressing food insecurity in Super Bowl Host cities and the 32 NFL Club markets, providing more than an estimated 220 million meals for Americans in need. Taste of the NFL brings together exceptional cuisine, prominent chefs, and food influencers from around the country, NFL players, coaches, legends, and fresh ideas, all to support the fight against hunger. Learn more about Taste of the NFL at www.genyouthnow.org.
About GENYOUth
GENYOUth is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that creates healthier school communities. We convene a network of private and public partners, including Fortune 100 companies and foundations, to raise funds for youth wellness initiatives that give youth the inspiration, motivation, and programs to be healthy high-achieving students. GENYOUth's flagship program, Fuel Up to Play 60, enrolls over 73,000 U.S. schools, reaching over 38 million students. Our school nutrition grants increase access to healthy school meals among food insecure students. NFL FLAG-In-School is GENYOUth's fastest growing program with over 20,000+ school communities reaching over 11 million students while AdVenture Capital brings out the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity of students with the support of corporate mentors to solve real world problems.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $67 billion in net revenue in 2019, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
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