Posts Tagged ‘servathon’

A Taste of Youth Service

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

Chef Remmi Smith

Hi, I’m Remmi of Cook Time with Remmi. I believe every young person can make a difference by doing what they love to do! I’ve always loved being in the kitchen; I was helping out when I was only 4 years old! Now at the age of 13, I have my own cooking show, Cook Time with Remmi, and I’m comfortable cooking for myself and my family.

I hope that my cooking show and the recipes on my website get kids excited about cooking because I believe that cooking at home can help you eat healthier and save money. It’s important that kids learn to eat and cook nutritious meals early so that these habits can stay with them as adults too! And, cooking is a lot of fun―I promise! I have always wanted to be a cook star….and so can you!

My passion for talking to other kids about how easy (and yummy!) cooking and eating nutritiously can be led me to become Sodexo’s first-ever Student Ambassador to Health and Nutrition! Sodexo provides education solutions to nearly 500 school districts nationwide. Their STOP Hunger program enables Sodexo communities, including employees, consumers, clients and suppliers to join together to make a difference and end hunger.

Thanks to Sodexo Foundation, I can reach way more kids and get them as excited about healthy cooking and eating as I am.

The No Kid Hungry campaign teaches families how to cook healthy, affordable meals.

With my Sodexo Foundation Youth Grant, I’m hosting the No Kid Hungry Food Classic – Be a C.H.E.F. on Global Youth Service Day. The event is on April 27th at Metro Appliances and More in Tulsa, OK, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. I’ll be doing demos and cooking up some of my favorite dishes for you to sample, and I will be talking to everyone about the No Kid Hungry campaign!

We are also having Global Gardens at the event and they will be talking about how to grow your own garden too!

I couldn’t believe it when I found out that 1 in 5 children in the United States struggles with hunger. I want to help end childhood hunger, so I decided to use what I love to do to make a difference and raise awareness and funds for No Kid Hungry.

Along with connecting kids in need with nutritious food, the No Kid Hungry campaign teaches their families how to cook healthy, affordable meals – something I love to do!

If you live in the Tulsa area, you should definitely come by! Be sure to bring canned food or a monetary donation to support Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and No Kid Hungry. But even if you don’t live in my area, you can still get involved! Cook Time with Remmi has lots of healthy recipes and fun videos from my cooking show. Check out NoKidHungry2.org for fun ways to help end childhood hunger.

I’m so excited for April 27th – hope to see you all there

Chef Remmi Smith is Sodexo’s Student Ambassador for Health and Nutrition.

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A Recipe for Ending Hunger

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013

Mabel Hernandez

I’m an alchemist in the kitchen, making magic happen when I transform the simplest ingredients into something extraordinary.

One trick I don’t mind sharing is a recipe for making hunger disappear.

I add a dash of my passion for cooking and fold in a generous measure of nutrition awareness, drawing on my professional experience.

Getting it right didn’t happen overnight, however.

A few years ago when I was a student at the University of the District of Columbia, a representative of the Capital Area Food Bank came to one of our classes recruiting volunteers for Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters® program .

I love serving as nutrition instructor and class coordinator at the local food bank..

The program mission attracted me, but time passed, and despite receiving monthly e-mails asking to join a series, I never joined.

Several years later, while working as a community nutritionist at an outpatient clinic, a manager re-directed my attention to Cooking Matters®. Finally, I contacted the Capital Area Food Bank, made all the arrangements and our first Cooking Matters series began, with we me serving as nutrition instructor and class coordinator.

I fell in love with all aspects of the program, which uses simple concepts, easy, inexpensive recipes and involve the participant in cooking and learning nutrition concepts.

"Basic, accessible ingredients can become delicious, healthy meals." Photo courtesy of Share Our Strength's Cooking Matters®

Using that experience as a springboard, I went on to work with a group of parents and kids at one of the Catholic Charities sites in Washington D.C., which subsequently became a Cooking Matters satellite site.

My responsibilities grew to include recruiting volunteers, planning and implementing the classes, and purchasing the groceries, while working with a wonderful team of colleagues.

Looking back, I’ve noticed that participants were most “spellbound” or receptive to new information when they could see how basic, accessible ingredients can become delicious, healthy meals.

Proper nutrition improves the quality of life and health for families. Photo courtesy of Share Our Strength's Cooking Matters®

They take joy in knowing how to gain proper nutrition that improves the quality of life and health for their families, and communities.

Through Cooking Matters, I found a way to combine my two passions: food and nutrition in a way that empowers individuals to personally combat hunger.

The real trick, you see, is in recognizing an opportunity to leverage the skills you’ve developed to proudly serve your community.

I encourage you to get involved with Cooking Matters or any other initiative that will fuel your passion and help to end hunger. Don’t put it off. You never know how many lives you can touch by your efforts.

Mabel Hernandez, a licensed nutritionist, is a 2013 Sodexo Dietetic Intern, and a 2008 Graduate of the University of the District of Columbia. View this video to learn more information about Cooking Matters.

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Ways to Serve, No Foolin’!

Friday, March 29th, 2013

Bob Stern

April 1st is special for a number of reasons: April Fool’s Day; opening day for Major League Baseball; and now it’s officially recognized as the start of Sodexo Servathon!

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley issued a formal proclamation this year, saluting Servathon and Sodexo’s important work fighting hunger in local communities.

Servathon is Sodexo’s largest employee engagement initiative in North America and around the world. Last year 40,000 employees in 35 countries got involved in the fight against hunger.

This year, I’m afraid the need is as great as ever. 50 million Americans, including more than 16 million children, don’t have enough to eat.

Since improving quality of life is important to Sodexo, it just makes sense that we ask employees to get involved in service projects in their communities to help fight hunger.

Volunteering at the Manna Food Center.

This year we’re asking employees to include youth in their service efforts too. I’ve found that today’s generation of youth is amazingly public-service oriented, and usually very eager to help those in need.

Involving kids also helps raise awareness around the issue of hunger, and helps ensure a strong pipeline of future leaders and volunteers in the fight against hunger. I encourage everyone to think about the young people in their life and find easy but effective ways for them to help out.

Earlier this week, my son, Elliott, joined me and several of my Sodexo colleagues at a volunteer event sponsored by PANG at Manna Food Center near our headquarters.

He’s done it before and he knows that poverty persists in every county and just about every school. My son is student teaching in a high school now, and he told me he has seen how hard it is for students to study when they are hungry. Having my son alongside me for Servathon was a special experience.

PANG, a Sodexo Employee Business Resource group, volunteering at Manna Food Center during Sodexo Servathon.

Need some thought-starters on how to mobilize youth to tackle the massive issue of hunger? Here are just a few simple ideas:

  • Block-out some time; whatever you can spare, minutes, hours or more and prepare or serve meals at a soup kitchen or sort food at a local food bank.
  • Take the No Kid Hungry Pledge, and ask young people in your life to take the pledge with you.
  • Raise funds or collect food to donate in your community.
  • Visit No Kid Hungry 2 for cool ideas on how to involve youth.

You can even check out Sodexo’s Servathon page for additional resources. And don’t forget to let us know what you’ve done, by sharing your Servathon story through our online survey.

Robert A. Stern is senior vice president and general counsel for Sodexo, Inc. and president of Sodexo Foundation, which supports innovative programs to help children and families in the United States who are at-risk of hunger.

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Giving Back to the Communities We Serve

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Dr. Rohini Anand, Ph.D

Sodexo’s annual Servathon brings together thousands of Sodexo employees to raise money, donate food, and serve meals in their local communities. This year I had the opportunity to participate in three very different Servathon events.  I joined Sodexo employees in Seattle at the Food Lifeline Food bank to pack cartons of corn – in one afternoon we packed over 77,000 lbs. of corn, a new record for the food bank! 

During that event I had the opportunity to meet Blaine Hirai, our partner from Hirai Farms, who donates over 1 Million pounds of locally grown produce every year. Most recently he donated 22,000 lbs. of potatoes to the Manna Food bank in Maryland.  Blaine also oversees the non-profit organization “Annie’s Fun” which was named for his mother and seeks to help those in need.  Annie’s Fun, in partnership with Sodexo, packed and donated 5 million pounds of food and rose over $100,000 for hunger relief.  Blaine, you are truly a champion for the hungry and it is an honor doing business with you! 

While I was in Seattle, the Sodexo Office of Diversity team was hosting its own Servathon event – a mini-food drive! While our office may not have a lot of people, everyone contributed and we were able to make a huge impact.  In just three days we compiled nearly 200 kid-friendly food items! 

The Sodexo Diversity & Inclusion team volunteering during Sodexo Servathon. Click on the photograph for a slide show of this worthwhile and rewarding event.

Most recently, the Office of Diversity team along with the Office of Sustainability joined forces with Women Who Care, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those in need overcome hunger, domestic violence, homelessness and substance abuse. The Sodexo team spent a morning packing over 1,000 backpacks of food for local children at risk of hunger on the weekends. It was fantastic to step outside of our normal routine and make a contribution to the larger community.  Special thanks to Judith Clark and the Women Who Care staff for making our visit so memorable and impactful – you do amazing work and we were proud to be a part of it for the day!

Giving back to the communities we serve is so important – I am proud to be part of an organization that supports and encourages involvement at all levels in the fight against hunger!        

Dr. Rohini Anand is the senior vice president and global chief diversity officer at Sodexo.

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A Force of Wills

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

I will...

Most of us want to help when we see or hear of people in need, but often we simply feel too overwhelmed. This is especially true when considering the issue of hunger in America where 49 million people – 16 million children, are not always sure about where their next meal will come from. We don’t feel like we can possibly make a dent in what seems like an insurmountable problem. The fact is, none of us can do it all alone, but together even the smallest of individual efforts done in collaboration with others can be a tremendous force for change.

But, where do you start? It all begins with just two simple words: “I will…” That’s exactly how Sodexo is encouraging action this month.

Every April, Sodexo holds its annual Servathon event, which engages employees, clients, vendors and customers to volunteer time effort and expertise tackling hunger in their local communities and holding fundraisers to support area hunger-releif organizations. For 2012 it kicked off its “I will…” campaign, asking 125,000 employees in North America to make a simple statement about what they will do for Servathon and then post it to the company’s STOP Hunger database.

For every statement that is posted to the STOP Hunger database French’s Foodservice, a longtime vendor partner to Sodexo, is donating $5 to Sodexo Foundation – up to $5,000 to help end childhood hunger in America.  In addition the supplier is also donating up to an additional $10,000 to Sodexo Foundation when Sodexo client sites order preselected French’s products between March 1 and April 30, 2012.

“I will” has been extremely successful in engaging a great number of pledges for Servathon. Here is a very small sample of the many that have already been submitted:

I will provide after-school snacks to school-aged children. – Frances

I will recruit 10 employees to enroll in payroll deductions. – Charmion

I will donate non-perishables to my local food pantry. – Allyson

I will coordinate a food drive and collect $32,000 lbs of food and raise $4,500. – Jonathan

I will sort and repackage food at a food bank. – Bob

            I will double my payroll giving to Sodexo Foundation. – Shondra

Sodexo employees continue to make “I will” statements in support of Servathon every day. For anyone reading this post that hasn’t already made and posted a commitment, I hope this inspires you to do so today.

Imagine the force of will and the impact of 125,000 Sodexo employees in North America or 413,000 Sodexo employees worldwide in 80 countries working to beat hunger. Post something today. I will. Will you?

Robert A. Stern is senior vice president and general counsel for Sodexo, Inc. and president of the Sodexo Foundation, which supports innovative programs to help children and families in the United States who are at-risk of hunger. 

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