Record Achievement in Youth Engagement and Community Impact Brings Renewal of Sodexo Foundation Partnership with Share Our Strength

GAITHERSBURG, Md., September 19, 2014 /3BL Media/ - Sodexo Foundation, the nonprofit charitable arm of Sodexo, today renewed its partnership with Share Our Strength in the fight against childhood hunger in America. The organization’s exceptional ability to mobilize youth through campaigns like No Kid Hungry and the Youth Ambassadors Program helped reaffirm Sodexo Foundation’s commitment to the partnership, which includes $3.25 million in funding for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign over the next three years.

Sodexo Foundation has supported Share Our Strength since 2003 in efforts to eliminate childhood hunger through targeted funding of nutrition programs, nationwide youth engagement activities and special grants for innovation projects to develop effective solutions that help end childhood hunger.  With the support of Sodexo Foundation, the No Kid Hungry campaign has reached major milestones, such as connecting children across the country with millions of nutritious meals since the launch of the No Kid Hungry campaign and creating online platforms like NoKidHungry2.org and Generation No Kid Hungry to build awareness of child hunger issues and address barriers affecting participation through youth engagement.

“Using a business-like, strategic approach to fighting hunger, Share Our Strength constantly yields impact from advocacy,” said Robert A. Stern, chair, Sodexo Foundation. “The No Kid Hungry initiative, which Sodexo Foundation supported from the beginning, has provided more than 107 million meals to kids. In addition, it eagerly took up the challenge of involving youth in driving awareness and increasing participation in supplemental nutrition programs. That disciplined approach to delivering measurable outcomes made it an easy decision for us to continue the partnership.”

Sodexo Foundation’s 3 year commitment to Share Our Strength will support:

·       Investment in the national capacity of the No Kid Hungry campaign and the infrastructure of Share Our Strength.

·       Enhanced efforts to meet national goals for access to supplemental nutrition programs, with added support in Arkansas and Maryland.

·       Increased engagement of youth in addressing childhood hunger and building awareness around the issue.

"The No Kid Hungry campaign celebrates the belief that everyone has strength to share in helping end childhood hunger in America," said Billy Shore, founder and CEO of Share Our Strength. "Our friends at the Sodexo Foundation epitomize this through their generous support of the No Kid Hungry campaign - especially in their efforts to empower today's youth as the generation that will help make No Kid Hungry a reality.”

YOUTH AMBASSADORS RECOGNIZED ON CAPITOL HILL

Teenagers volunteer 2.4 billion hours annually, worth $34.3 billion to the U.S. economy. The No Kid Hungry Youth Ambassador Program exemplifies the impact that next generation youth leaders can have when focusing even a fraction of that time on the issue of hunger.

In celebrating Sodexo Foundation’s renewed commitment to Share Our Strength, and in particular its efforts to engage youth in the fight to end childhood hunger, 13 Youth Ambassadors from around the U.S. were recognized today at a special breakfast in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill. Each had an opportunity to meet with their respective Senate and Congressional representatives following the breakfast.

Youth Ambassadors are responsible for working on collaborative projects along with No Kid Hungry state partner organizations and fellow Youth Ambassadors in efforts to increase the number of children who have access to healthy summer meals in their communities. They also support media outreach, blogging, organizing press events and other awareness building activities.

The 2014 No Kid Hungry Youth Ambassadors hail from Arkansas (2), California (1), Connecticut (2), Illinois (2), Montana (1), North Carolina (2) and Texas (3). Visit No Kid Hungry to learn more about them.

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ABOUT NO KID HUNGRY
No child should grow up hungry in America, but one in five children struggles with hunger. Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry® campaign is ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need, every day. No Kid Hungry connects kids in need to effective nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals and teaches low-income families to cook healthy, affordable meals. This work is accomplished through the No Kid Hungry network, made up of private citizens, public officials, nonprofits, business leaders and others providing innovative hunger solutions in their communities. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.  

Sodexo in North America
Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Life Services company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On-site Services in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, as well as Benefits and Rewards Services and Personal and Home Services. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $22 million in grants to end childhood hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at SodexoInsights.com. Visit Sodexo on Facebook and follow on Twitter @SodexoUSA.