• Michelle Hartfield

The Salvation Army Partners with PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation to Host Food and Water Distribution Event

On Labor Day, The Salvation Army partnered with PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation to host a water and food distribution for the city of Jackson. PepsiCo and Brown Bottling Group company employees served with Salvation Army staff and volunteers to distribute food, water, and hygiene kits to community residents.

Following the near failure of the city's largest water treatment facility last week, thousands in the community were out of options to secure drinking water and other necessities for their families.

“We can’t afford to keep buying water and pay our bills,” said Mary Jones. “The Water that comes out of my sink is green or brown. Without you guys, I don’t think we could survive it.”

PepsiCo, the PepsiCo Foundation, and PepsiCo local bottling partner, Brown Bottling Group, stepped in to donate 10,000 shelf-stable ‘Food for Good’ meals and thousands of cases of bottled water for distribution.

Shelley Brown Floyd, Executive VP of Brown Bottling Group stated, “We are fortunate to partner with The Salvation Army to distribute supplies to the residents of Jackson. Being a Mississippi based company, seeing this pain in our communities hits hard.”

“The Salvation Army will continue to provide food and water until this crisis abates or we've depleted our resources,” said William Trueblood, Divisional Director of Emergency Disaster Services. Throughout the last week, The Salvation Army distributed 1,000 shelf-stable meals and over 2,500 cases of water through bulk distributions and the deployment of its Emergency Response Teams to underserved communities without access to transportation.

“I wish I could thank every person here,” said Lorraine Williams as she waited in line to receive her water. “God Bless them. I’m so grateful for their sacrifice to be here. This is what The Salvation Army does. You are here with boots on the ground. We thank you.”

Donations can be made by texting JACKSONWATER to 51555 or by visiting helpsalvationarmy.org.