Posted on February 2, 2011

Sodexo Foundation Announces $20 Million in Grants to Fight Childhood Hunger

The Sodexo Foundation, the charitable arm of food services company Sodexo, has announced a three-year, $20 million commitment of grants and in-kind donations to support initiatives designed to ensure that the seventeen million children in the United States facing hunger have dependable access to nutritious food.

In partnership with Share Our Strength and Youth Service America, the foundation hopes to alleviate childhood hunger through targeted funding of summer meals programs, nationwide youth engagement, and grants to nonprofits, schools, and youth volunteers interested in taking an active role in the fight against hunger. Among other things, Sodexo will work with Share our Strength to boost participation in the No Kid Hungry initiative nationally, while working to have an even deeper impact in three key markets — Maryland, Virginia, and Florida — with the goal of increasing participation in the initiative by 5 percent a year over the next three years.

The initiative includes an effort to engage and mobilize America's youth by creating incentives for youth volunteer projects, establishing a youth ambassadors program, and developing an online youth action center to educate students about hunger and poverty and provide them with the resources necessary to have a direct impact.

The foundation also plans to support programs such as Feeding Our Future, through which Sodexo has provided more than 2.5 million free school lunches since 1997, and the STOP Hunger Scholarship program, which recognizes and rewards students who have made a significant impact in the fight against hunger.

"There is enough food in America to feed all children, yet millions are at risk of suffering long-term effects on their health, education, and future potential because they do not have dependable access to nutritious food," said Sodexo Foundation president Stephen J. Brady. "Through our partnership with these two tremendous champions for youth, our opportunity to make an impact is significant. Building on our record of achievement with a combination of nationwide youth engagement, grant programs, funding for summer meals, and engaging Sodexo employees, clients, and customers, we are poised to have a broader and deeper impact on fighting childhood hunger."