Sodexo Foundation Opens Application Period for 2016 Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarships

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sodexo Foundation announced that the application period for the 2016 Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarships opens today, October 5 and closes December 5, 2015. The scholarship program urges students to apply to #Get5Give5 and impact millions. Students from K-12 through graduate school are eligible to apply for a $5,000 scholarship with matching $5,000 grant for the charity of their choice by visiting SodexoFoundation.org.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 48 million people living in the U.S. are at risk of hunger; more than 15 million of them children. Each year, Sodexo Foundation recognizes youth-led initiatives that work to improve the quality of life for children and families who are impacted by hunger in local communities.

"There were 15.3 million children living in food insecure homes in 2014," said Robert A. Stern, chair, Sodexo Foundation. "While many have some degree of access to food through supplemental nutrition programs and charitable food organizations, there remains a serious hunger gap to be filled. Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholars create youth-led, innovative solutions that fill that need, connecting people to food and resources."

Up to five national scholarship recipients will be selected based on their ongoing work to fight hunger, with each receiving a $5,000 scholarship and a matching $5,000 grant for their anti-hunger charity of choice. Sodexo Foundation will also recognize up to 20 Stop Hunger Regional Honorees with a $1,000 donation for their preferred hunger-relief charity.

To date, Sodexo Foundation has recognized 149 Stop Hunger Regional Honorees and 45 national scholarship recipients with grants totaling $354,000 for their hunger-relief charities and $205,000 in scholarships. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in an accredited education institution (kindergarten through graduate school) in the United States and be able to demonstrate an enduring commitment to hunger-relief activities in their community.

The deadline for 2016 applications is December 5, 2015. The 2016 Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarship recipients will be announced on June 13, 2016 at the 17th Annual Sodexo Foundation Dinner. For complete details and to apply, please visit SodexoFoundation.org.

Visit Sodexo Foundation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @StopHungerUSA.

Sodexo in North America
Sodexo, Inc., 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, an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $25 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.

SOURCE Sodexo, Inc.