Sodexo and the Fight Against Hunger

Every day, Sodexo serves hundreds of thousands of nutritious meals. Yet across our nation, an estimated 49 million people are at-risk of hunger, including 16.2 million children. As the leading provider of Quality of Daily Life Solutions, fighting hunger is the focus of our community service efforts.  As part of our commitment to corporate social responsibility, our STOP Hunger program mobilizes Sodexo employees to join forces and engage with local partners to fight hunger.

Sodexo's hunger-related initiatives fall under the banner of the STOP Hunger program. S-T-O-P stands for Sodexo Teams Our People, because it is truly a company-wide effort. Sodexo employees rally to the cause, holding fundraisers; donating their time, resources, and expertise; and encouraging clients and customers to help end childhood hunger by supporting many of our programs and partners including:

Feeding Our Future® - a summer lunch program where Sodexo partners with community hunger relief organizations to provide free lunches to children in need. This program donates the food necessary to provide summer lunches to children who would otherwise go hungry.

Sodexo Servathon - Sodexo sets aside the month of April for its employees globally to join forces to fight hunger in their communities. Employees gain gratifying experiences while developing important teambuilding skills. Servathon activities include: fundraisers, food drives, volunteering at food banks, donating surplus food, and payroll deductions

Food Donations - Sodexo donates surplus perishable and non-perishable food to Feeding America members and other local food banks across the country. All of our accounts are encouraged to "recycle" surplus food by donating to local food banks.

Backpack Food Program - a program of local food banks that Sodexo supports to provide backpacks filled with nutritious, easy-to-prepare, non-perishable food for students who are at-risk of hunger when free or reduced-price school lunches are not available. Backpacks are discreetly distributed to deserving students in easily accessible and safe environments on the last day prior to a weekend or holiday vacation.

The Campus Kitchens Project - a national community service organization that works with students to share on-campus kitchen space, to recover food from cafeterias, and engage students as volunteers who prepare and deliver meals to the community.

Sodexo Foundation
In 1999 Sodexo Foundation was created, a not-for-profit organization committed to ending childhood hunger in America. Sodexo Foundation works to ensure that every child in the United States, especially those most at-risk, grows up with dependable access to enough nutritious food to enable them to lead a healthy, productive life. Sodexo, Inc. funds all administrative costs for Sodexo Foundation to ensure that all money raised is directed to those in need. Since its inception, the Foundation has made more than $17 million in grants to end childhood hunger in America.

Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Scholarships - a program that recognizes students who are driving awareness and mobilizing youth to be catalysts for innovative models that provide solutions to eliminate hunger in America. Scholarship recipients receive a $5,000 scholarship as well as matching grant for their hunger-related charity.

Heroes of Everyday Life® - Sodexo recognizes employees who have invested time, talent, and service spirit to help those at risk of hunger. Award recipients are honored at the Sodexo Foundation Dinner and receive $5,000 for their hunger-related charity of choice.

Sodexo Foundation also provides scholarships to students with financial need and a demonstrated commitment to fighting childhood hunger through the United Negro College Fund, Hispanic College Fund and Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund.

Sodexo Foundation Partnership with Share Our Strength and YSA
Building on more than 10 years in the fight against hunger, in 2011 Sodexo Foundation made a renewed commitment to focus on those most vulnerable by partnering with Share Our Strength and YSA to mobilize youth to increase the impact on alleviating childhood hunger.

Share Our Strength's goal is to end childhood hunger in America by 2015 through its No Kid Hungry Campaign. Sodexo Foundation has placed a priority on supporting Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry state campaigns in Florida, Maryland and Virginia to facilitate increased participation in summer meals among low-income kids and launch new youth-focused initiatives including, the Hunger Youth Ambassador Program and online youth action center: No Kid Hungry 2.

One of the main priorities for Sodexo Foundation's philanthropic activities is to engage youth in the national anti-hunger movement by encouraging and educating a new generation of passionate and dedicated leaders who will advocate for this cause among their school peers and friends. To further this mission, Sodexo Foundation provided funding for a collaborative effort with Share Our Strength and YSA to create No Kid Hungry 2. This online resource center hosts age-appropriate ideas and resources to help young leaders, parents and teachers organize volunteer activities and advocacy efforts to raise awareness in their schools and neighborhoods to help end childhood hunger.

In addition, Sodexo Foundation and YSA are partnering to fund thousands of dollars of grants for youth-led and school-based hunger projects throughout the nation. Our work with YSA is comprised of three grant programs that support youth engagement activities organized by non-profits, teachers and schools, and youth focused on childhood hunger projects. These programs, which activate thousands of young people across the country, include: Sodexo Foundation Youth Grants, Sodexo Foundation Lead Organizer Grants, and Sodexo Foundation School Engagement Grants. Application dates vary. Visit ysa.org/grants to learn more.

Sodexo Foundation's commitment demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships in working together to end childhood hunger. Learn more about Sodexo Foundation.