JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Jackson State University’s (JSU) Tiger Food Pantry received $50,000 from PepsiCo as part of the beverage company’s ongoing support of HBCUs.

The company announced $250,000 in grants that aim to eliminate food insecurity across five HBCU campuses, including JSU. Established in 2018, the JSU Tiger Food Pantry supplies toiletries and non-perishable food items to students in need at no cost. 

“It is our responsibility to prepare our students for success, and alleviating the worry of their next meal is one way to do so. We are most appreciative of PepsiCo’s efforts to help us in our endeavor to provide a better quality of life for our campus community,” said Elayne Hayes-Anthony, Ph.D., acting president of JSU. 

Across the five selected HBCU campuses, the grants will support more than 37,500 students facing food insecurity by funding on-campus food pantry supplies and groceries, meal plans for homeless students, cooking and meal prep workshops, stipends for student staff within the pantries, and more. In addition, PepsiCo will also supply free meals for approximately 2,000 students at select universities during their respective winter finals weeks in December.