Sodexo Receives Corporate Champion Award from Mar Vista Family Center
Award recognizes Sodexo’s community partnership and local impact including providing over 200,000 free summer meals to children at risk in Los Angeles
GAITHERSBURG, Md., May, 19, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Life Services, has been recognized by Mar Vista Family Center (MVFC) with the Corporate Champion Award for the company’s work impacting the community of Mar Vista including work to close the hunger gap in Los Angeles through their Feeding Our Future program, which has provided summer meals to the center for the past seven years.
During the school year, more than 21 million kids nationwide receive free and reduced-price meals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But when school lets out for the summer, only 3.8 million children participate in summer meal programs. One in four children in Los Angeles struggles with hunger, and Los Angeles County tops the list of counties with the most children living in fear of food insecurity, according to Feeding America.
The Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation provides grants to local Sodexo teams, usually dining services teams at local universities, hospitals or corporations, to ensure kids at risk of hunger in the community receive nourishment during the summer months, especially when they are not in school. In LA, Sodexo’s dining services team at Loyola Marymount University volunteers their time to prepare and distribute the summer meals. This summer, Sodexo will surpass the 250,000 meal mark in Los Angeles since the Feeding our Future program began in 1999.
“The Corporate Champion Award honors Sodexo’s continued commitment to feeding children at risk of hunger in our community and at our center through the Feeding our Future program,” explained Lucia Diaz, chief executive officer of Mar Vista Family Center. “Over the years, Sodexo has made a positive impact and has grown into a partner that we can count on not only in the summer months, but throughout the year. We look forward to our continued partnership and appreciate Sodexo’s efforts and support.”
In the fall of 2015, the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation granted the center $5,000 to help MVFC continue feeding the low-income families of LA County and Sodexo engaged their team at the Rancho Los Amigos Rehab Hospital to recycle their kitchen appliances and cookware for use at MVFC. Sodexo’s Los Angeles area Health Care team, also looking for a way to give back, worked side by side with the center to improve the conditions for those they serve. Volunteers from the company’s local housekeeping services teams started in the morning to strip and refinish all of the floors (10K sq. ft.) drastically improving the condition of the floors of the center to create a safer environment.
MVFC was founded in 1977 as a preschool for low-income families that aimed to engage parents as partners in the education of their children. Today, MVFC helps approximately 300 children avoid gang involvement by providing a safe space and programs that help them academically.
Sodexo delivers more than 100 services across North America that enhance organizational performance, contribute to local communities and improve quality of life. The global Fortune Global 500 company is a leader in delivering sustainable, integrated facilities management and foodservice operations. Learn more at Sodexo Insights.
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Contact: Enrico Dinges, Sodexo, Inc., 301-987-4393, enrico.dinges@sodexo.com
