Posts Tagged ‘feeding our future’

Closing the Meal Gap

Thursday, December 6th, 2012

Lauren Brayer

Some would say that working so closely to an issue like childhood hunger can wear on the soul after a while – slowly eating away at the heart with overwhelming images of enduring need. That’s not my view. I see myself as lucky…. lucky to make the acquaintance of so many individuals and businesses that choose to be a part of the solution.

Take for example the 21 million children who returned to school this fall and are receiving free and reduced-price meals — regular, nutritious meals that they can depend on without fail during school days.

Were it not for the dedication of countless individuals, when schools close for holidays, weekends or summer breaks, many of these kids find themselves at risk of hunger.

I’m fortunate enough to work with so many of these dedicated individuals every day in the course of my work with Sodexo Foundation.

Sodexo volunteers Shondra, Lauren (center), Sam, and Necole volunteering in Washington, DC at the Capital Area Food Bank, a Feeding Our Future® participant.

They are the driving force behind successful programs like Feeding Our Future®, which helps children get the nutritious meals they need during the summer months so they’re ready to learn when they return to school.

Feeding Our Future® entered its 16th year this summer, with a presence in 24 U.S. cities, providing 400,000 nutritious meals. Since its inception, the program has provided nearly 3.4 million meals to children nationwide.

Feeding Our Future is impactful due to the many volunteers who donate time and resources. They are community leaders, Sodexo employees, clients and customers and 26 vendor partners, including key donors like The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Sysco and The Schwan Food Company, who along with Sodexo Foundation implement the program across the country.

A Sodexo Foundation - Feeding Our Future® event in Atlanta, Georgia.

I know I’m not alone in balancing the severity of the need and gratitude for those willing to fill it. The following note was shared with me by a Feeding Our Future volunteer about an experience  in Indianapolis:

Sodexo’s Feeding Our Future program was a blessing to Indianapolis children every day during the summer. A team of volunteers separated and bagged the lunches to give out. Upon our arrival, children were standing outside waiting for the lunches. We gave out 100 lunches in the first 15 minutes. And, all the lunches were gone after 25 minutes.  The heartbreak was every day like clockwork – children would come up and say, “Are all the meals gone already?”  This would bring tears to my eyes. However, we are so grateful to Sodexo for the many children that did receive meals each day. — Toni Bunch, Precious Gifts Visionaries Childcare, Indiana

A Sodexo Foundation - Feeding Our Future® event in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

As a direct result of Feeding Our Future, Sodexo was honored with the Children Are Reason for Excellence service award this September by the Boys and Girls Clubs Tennessee Area Council for the contributions it makes to improve the quality of life for at-risk youth in Tennessee.

Recognition like that comes from the work of a lot of caring people. I’m so lucky to know them.

Lauren Brayer is a program manager at Sodexo and manages Feeding Our Future and other U.S. STOP Hunger initiatives at Sodexo. Visit www.SodexoFoundation.org for more information.

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Fighting Hunger in Chicagoland

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

Emily Scammell

Based out of a small, first-floor kitchen on the corner of Northwestern’s sprawling campus, the staff and volunteers of The Campus Kitchen at Northwestern University (CKNU) are working to make and deliver meals to close to 22,000 individuals in Evanston as part of this summer’s Feeding Our Future® program.  From busy summer camps with underprivileged children to packed homeless shelters with hungry residents, CKNU works hard to provide food to those who need it the most.

As a volunteer for CKNU this summer, I had a chance to gain an in depth look into the needs of the community and how CKNU was helping to fill it.  In addition to providing meals to children, the Campus Kitchen at Northwestern University and its volunteers are able to form a special connection to the people we serve and provide more than any meal could: companionship and compassion.  In this sense, our efforts are not just about making meals, but creating a hopeful future for our clients.  In recent weeks we have been lucky to be able to participate in a Feeding Our Future nutritional education event, with the Sodexo team at Northwestern University and Unilever, in helping to cultivate healthy choices in our youngest generation.

On July 24th at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, amongst 125 eager children and volunteers, we played nutrition-focused games – taste-testing whole grains and exotic fruits, and becoming “food scientists”, the children participating were able to gain an understanding of what essential nutrients will sustain their minds and bodies for healthy lives. 

Sodexo, Northwestern & Campus Kitchens "Feeding our Future." Click on the photograph for more images from the event.

By providing meals and being proactive in the community, CKNU hopes to establish a foundation for each child to create a rich and meaningful life.  However, without the ever-present support and contributions from Sodexo Foundation, Unilever, and the Sodexo team at NU, none of our efforts would be possible.  Their enthusiasm for their hunger-fighting efforts and dedication to nutritional education not only help us to continue to provide meals, but give the children we serve an excitement and energy for healthy living.

Much like Sodexo Foundation’s summer feeding program name, we are eager in not only “Feeding Our Future” in a physical sense, but in an emotional and cognitive manner, giving kids the tools they need for a wholesome childhood.

Emily Scammell is a rising senior and president of the Campus Kitchen at Auburn University. Emily is serving as an Americorps VISTA for the Campus Kitchen at Northwestern University during the Feeding Our Future summer program. 

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A Privilege to be a Part of Feeding Our Future

Friday, July 8th, 2011

The Sodexo Foundation established Feeding Our Future® to ensure that children who depend on federal meal programs during the school year still receive nutritious meals during the summer months.

Driving my step children to Summer Camp this morning, I checked to make sure each of them had $5 “snack money” for their field trip today.  Being a Dietitian, I asked them not to buy sweets, like candy and popsicles, but I still knew most of the money would be spent on junk food.

While making the drive from camp to Sodexo, I began thinking about a volunteer event my team and I participated in last year during the Feeding Our Future® program. That particular day, we were serving “Make Your Own Pizza”: English Muffins, Marinara Sauce, and Shredded Mozzarella Cheese. 

One child broke the English muffin in half, used only half of the sauce & cheese.  He carefully placed the leftover sauce & cheese in a little container, snapped the top on and slid the English muffin half back into his bag.  I asked him if there was something wrong with his food; he shook his head “no”.  He then looked up to me with his big brown eyes and said, “We don’t have any food at home right now, so I am taking this home to share with my mom and dad.”  We told him to go ahead and eat the whole pizza, and then gave him 2 more pizzas for his parents. 

That meal was the only meal that family was going to have that day, and possibly for several days.  I wondered how many children are in the same situation as that child was — Not only here in Houston, but all over this Nation.

Sodexo has given me the opportunity to help put an end to the awful problem of childhood hunger. We now have 24 sites throughout the U.S. involved in Sodexo’s Feeding Our Future program.  I am proud to work for a company who makes the fight against hunger part of their mission.

Seeing the faces of those children who benefitted from the meals we provided that day has made a profound impact on my life. Each of us making the site visit that day left in tears, but at the same time, we felt incredibly lucky to have what we have.

It is amazing for me to think that I sent my step children to Summer Camp with a full lunch and money for a snack.  My biggest worry was keeping them away from junk food.  Their lunch alone was probably more food than most of the children served in the Feeding Our Future program receives in a week!

Shaynee Roper is a Sodexo dietitian and clinical nutrition manager for the Harris County Hospital District in Houston, Texas.

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