PepsiCo Foundation gives $1 million to expand Restaurant Ready program

A $1 million PepsiCo Foundation grant is pushing Restaurant Ready into five cities at a time when restaurants still need a steadier pipeline of workers who can stay, grow and move up. The money from the PepsiCo Foundation went to the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation to expand the program in Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York City.

The expansion matters because Restaurant Ready is built around the part of restaurant work that too often gets promised and too rarely supported: the jump from an entry-level job to something more durable. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation describes the program as a national effort that helps people gain the basic job and life skills needed for restaurant and hospitality jobs and, in its words, jumpstart a pathway to independence. It does that through community-based organizations working with NRAEF and state restaurant associations.

Those partners provide training in six work-ready competency areas defined by the hospitality industry. The model is not just about technical basics. It is also meant to build the discipline and confidence people need to start a job and keep it, while state restaurant associations connect participants with local employers and community groups offer wraparound services to clear common barriers to employment. For restaurant operators, that can mean a stronger candidate pool than a job ad alone usually produces. For workers, it can mean help with the practical problems that often derail good hires before they become stable staff.

PepsiCo Foundation president C.D. Glin said the partnership was intended to expand workforce training programs and create more opportunities for people to acquire essential skills and build rewarding careers in the restaurant industry. NRAEF president Rob Gifford said the goal was to help people from disadvantaged populations seize first-job opportunities through Restaurant Ready. That framing fits an industry where upward mobility is often talked about at the host stand and in management meetings, but not always backed up with training, structure or a real hiring pathway.

The program’s growth also comes against a still-tight labor backdrop. The National Restaurant Association has said labor shortages were the most severe on record in 2022, and as of April 2026 eating and drinking places were still only 71,400 jobs above their February 2020 peak. NRAEF’s 2025 impact report said Restaurant Ready expanded across five new states and reached more than 1,300 new people, while its 2022 impact report said the foundation and its programs supported nearly 170,000 people that year. The scale suggests this is more than a one-off gift. It is a workforce model built to move people from first job to longer-term retention, which is exactly where the restaurant industry keeps saying it needs help.