A family sitting together at the dinner table and smiling

Mars Food & Nutrition

Bringing People Together

We continue to champion the benefits of shared mealtimes and are passionate about helping remove the barriers that exist so more people can sit down to eat together and connect over food.

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week in the U.K., we released our latest Mealtimes Matter Report on the positive psychological and physical impact of shared mealtimes. The report was part of our ongoing commitment to building the evidence base on the benefits of shared mealtimes grounded in science and research.

Ben’s Original™ Seat at the Table™

Our ambition is to create a more inclusive future while maintaining our commitment to producing the world’s best rice. We’re taking action to enhance inclusion and equity inspired by our brand purpose to create opportunities that offer everyone a seat at the table. Through Ben’s Original™ we have been expanding our efforts to support underserved communities around the world by providing access to nutritious meals and offering educational opportunities to advance diversity in the food industry.

Our Seat at the Table™ Fund is helping provide educational opportunities to increase diversity in the food industry so that people from underserved communities can have their ideas and voices heard and appreciated by all. We are aiming to support 300+ individuals with educational opportunities by 2025.

Following the launch of our program in the U.S. – where we have awarded 39 scholarships to African American students – we have now expanded our Ben’s Original Seat at the Table scholarship program to the U.K. and Canada.

In Canada we have awarded 15 scholarships to students who identify as Black, Indigenous or Persons of Color (BIPOC), and in the U.K. have enrolled 14 candidates at Leith’s School of Food & Wine.