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Congress Set to Act on Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids ActCongress has begun debating reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act (CNA), the major federal legislation that funds national school lunch and breakfast programs, summer meals, and WIC, other vital nutrition programs. Up for reauthorization by September 2010, the CNA has been “re-branded” under the more goal-oriented title “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act,” acknowledging President Obama’s objective of eradicating childhood hunger by 2015. If passed in its current form, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act would commit an additional $4.5 billion to child-nutrition programs in the next decade and set new nutrition standards for all school food services. In a positive first step, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed the bill unanimously and sent it to the full Senate for a vote later this year. The House has not yet voted on its version of the CNA. Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss, the senior Republican on the Agriculture Committee who supports the child nutrition bill, lamented that “there’s never enough money” but that the bill still represents a great step forward. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D.-Ark.), the Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman, said “This bill puts us on the path to ending childhood hunger and addressing the epidemic of childhood obesity.” Among the bill’s goals is increasing the number of students covered by the CNA and an easing of eligibility requirements for schoolchildren living in high-poverty areas. So while budget squabbles and ideology may have slowed some of the federal government’s movement, at least in the realm of improving nourishment and nutrition for our children, we have so far seen the power of unanimity. Read the full text of the CNA bill Sodexo Foundation Recognizes Heroes and Scholars Who Fight Hunger
The STOP Hunger Scholarship Program acknowledges and rewards five students from kindergarten to graduate school who have had a powerful impact on the lives of some of the 49 million Americans facing food deprivation. The eight Heroes of Everyday Life are Sodexo employees who have made outstanding personal commitments in the fight against hunger. From organizing large canned food drives to personally serving thousands of meals, these individuals continue to inspire and organize others to help their communities. STOP Hunger Scholarship Recipients
Each student received a $5,000 scholarship and a $5,000 grant to donate to the charity of his or her choice. Watch the NBC News report on Katie’s Krops Heroes of Everyday Life
Prominent Hunger Relief Advocates Blog for Sodexo
Now Sodexo has added as guest bloggers two of the nation’s most prominent voices in the fight against hunger: Ambassador Tony Hall, Managing Director of the Alliance to End Hunger and a former Member of Congress from Ohio, and Billy Shore, the dynamic leader of Share Our Strength. Here’s one poignant excerpt from Tony Hall’s recent contribution: Billy Shore recently addressed the limited access to childhood nutrition programs: “…Kids in the U.S. aren’t hungry because we lack food, or because of a lack of food and nutrition programs. That is not the case either. They are hungry because they lack access to those programs. And every time we increase access—to school breakfast, to summer feeding, to SNAP / food stamps—we increase the flow of already authorized and appropriated federal dollars into states. Even increasing school breakfast participation from the 45% rate it is at today to 60% would bring $561 million into the states. More than a billion dollars are at stake when you consider all of the food and nutrition programs for which kids are eligible but not enrolled.” Read more of Billy’s blog post The Sodexo USA blog is always lively and informative and we hope you’ll check in frequently. Be sure to read Tony and Billy’s timely jottings and share them with the people you know who share your concern for children in need. Sodexo Employees Spring into Action at ServathonApril is the month when Sodexo employees kick their commitment to helping the hungry into a higher gear as they give back through our annual Sodexo Servathon. Virtually every part of the country saw teams of Sodexo employees in action helping their neighbors at risk of hunger. They walked to raise money, ran food drives, cooked for seniors, packaged thousands of meals, stuffed students’ backpacks, and volunteered at food banks, shelters, and schools while raising funds and boosting spirits.
The 33,000 Sodexo employees who donated time, money, food, and boundless energy are an inspiration for us all to do more and to join in next year’s Servathon. Article ArchivesSTOP Hunger eZine Issues Vol. 5 Issue 2: STOP Hunger eZine - June 2010 Special Edition: Don't Miss a Scholarship Opportunity Vol. 4 Issue 3: STOP Hunger eZine - October 2009 Vol. 4 Issue 2: STOP Hunger eZine - July 2009 Vol. 4 Issue 1: STOP Hunger eZine - March 2009 Special Edition: $5,000 scholarships for community service Vol. 3 Issue 6: STOP Hunger eZine - November 2008
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June 2010 – Volume 5/Issue 2
In this issue: Boston’s Walk for Hunger Strides into 42nd Year
Spectacular, sunny weather greeted the more than 42,000 people who raised $3.8 million on May 2 in Project Bread's forty-first annual Walk for Hunger in Boston, Mass. The oldest continual pledge walk in the country, the 20-mile amble attracted 1,200 corporate teams, 1,000 religious organizations, 1,200 schools, and 700 friends and family groups, including a number of Sodexo employees. The funds raised will provide food for 400 emergency food programs in 135 Massachusetts cities and towns, which served an incredible 57.8 million emergency meals last year. Over the last four years, Project Bread has granted more than $2 million to community groups that focus on feeding children where they live, learn, and play. “When so many people are strapped, it’s heartening to see so many walkers show their support for those struggling to put food on the table,” said Ellen Parker, executive director of Project Bread-The Walk for Hunger. “Our walkers, volunteers, and donors are the heroes of this event. They’ve come out to help those who are hurting as never before.” The USDA estimates more than 554,000 people in Massachusetts are struggling to put food on the table. Underscoring that number, Project Bread’s Food Source Hotline calls have surged over the past year from 37,000 to nearly 50,000. Since the Walk began in 1969, more than 1 million walkers have covered 20.8 million miles to raise nearly $80 million to help hungry people. As the model anti-hunger fundraiser—perhaps rightly described as the “mother of all pledge walks”—Project Bread, its volunteers and participants, demonstrate the powerful impact neighbors can have by uniting to combat hunger in their own communities. |
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Sodexo honored this year’s Heroes of Everyday Life® and STOP Hunger Scholarship recipients on June 10 at the 11th annual Sodexo Foundation Dinner in Washington, D.C. These two important Foundation initiatives showcase the efforts of people from inside and outside Sodexo who have committed themselves to aid their neighbors at risk of hunger.
In Seattle Washington, more than 
This year the NY Metro team of 13 volunteered at the 
The Office of Diversity and Corporate Sustainability from Sodexo’s Gaithersburg, Maryland headquarters offered their support at 
The Twentynine Palms community of Southern California benefited from the Servathon as Sodexo’s Government Services team sponsored a Walk Against Hunger Festival, raising $650 for Food For Life and the Twentynine Palms Community Food Pantry. 
In Illinois, a group of Sodexo volunteers really put their heart into Servathon, selling STOP Hunger Hearts and Astor Chocolate. Over the course of five days, they raised $451 for the Sodexo Foundation. 