A program aiming to improve nutrition for rural students in southwest China kicked off here on Thursday.

The program, called “PepsiCo Nutrition InAction”, was jointly initiated by PepsiCo Greater China Region (PepsiCo GCR), China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), and Chinese Nutrition Society (CNS).

According to the program, nearly 1,700 rural students will be provided with nutritious breakfasts in one school year in the city of Zhaotong, southwest China’s Yunnan province, and teachers and students in specified areas will be given lessons on nutritional knowledge.

Jiang Shaogao, vice president of CFPA, who attended the launch ceremony of the program, said about one in five children are living in poverty in China and their healthy growth is essential for national progress and future.

“To invest in children nutrition is to invest in the future,” Jiang said. “Providing nutritional assistance to children can prevent inter-generational transmission of poverty and fundamentally eliminate poverty.”

Yang Yuexin, president of CNS, said that the Chinese government has issued many policies to improve nutrition for children living in poverty-stricken areas, and achieved positive results with wide participation of people from all walks of life.

“Despite huge investment, the problem of malnutrition still exists in China, especially in impoverished areas,” Yang said.

Hence, CNS will carry out a series of training sessions to improve public awareness of food nutrition in areas covered by the program, she said.

Michael Lindsey, Vice President of Nutrition Category and Commercialization of PepsiCo GCR, expected to cooperate with CFPA and CNS to make contributions to the nutrition and overall development of children in impoverished areas of China by bringing professionalism to the field.

PepsiCo, a US-based company, will donate funds and materials worth 1 million yuan (about 156,300 U.S. dollars) to the program.