Sodexo Foundation Recognizes San Diego Area Teen Filmmaker for Documenting Hunger among Military Families

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- While hunger continues to affect a growing population in communities across America, a mobilized youth culture may well be the key to the solution. Students from kindergarten to graduate school are actively engaged in service-oriented volunteer work, many of them focused on eliminating hunger. Camille Posard, a high school senior from Encinitas, Calif. is a perfect example. Tonight she will be recognized at the 13th Annual Sodexo Foundation Dinner in Washington, D.C. as a national 2012 Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Scholarship recipient for spotlighting hunger among military families and reducing food waste. As part of that recognition, Posard will receive a $5,000 scholarship and a $5,000 matching grant presented in her name to the hunger-related charity of her choice, Donate, Don't Dump.

Recognizing the power of a well-told story, Posard is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and anti-hunger advocate who turned a journalism class project into a phenomenal vehicle for hunger awareness, advocacy and fundraising. In a news report for her project, Camille captured the struggle among families of active duty military personnel including Marines and Navy corpsmen stationed in her community. She eventually secured $66,000 in funding to produce the documentary, "One in Seven."

"Most people don't even realize the extent of childhood hunger in our country, or that 'food insecure' families may be living right next door," said Robert A. Stern, Chair, Sodexo Foundation. "Only by driving awareness at the local and national levels can we even get to the point of implementing change, and that's exactly what students like Camille are doing."

Her film has been screened more than 80 times including at the Global Peace Film Festival, San Diego Film Festival and it won the California competition at the Yosemite Film Festival. In addition, hunger agencies now use it as a resource for raising awareness and funding. The young filmmaker's work also extends beyond the screen.

"The scale of human suffering was staggering in every city we filmed," Posard recalls. "After learning that 96 billion pounds of edible food goes into U.S. landfills every year, my compassion turned to outrage, and I began recruiting other teens."

As co-founder and vice president of the non-profit Donate, Don't Dump, Camille and her sister work to minimize edible food waste by restaurants and grocery markets in San Diego County. Donate, Don't Dump educates businesses about food waste and provides opportunities for them to donate surplus food to those in need.

Also named as national Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Scholarship recipients for 2012 are: Peyton Medick of Weston, Wis. (8th Grader), Alexander Epstein of New York, N.Y. (College Junior), Rebecca Fawns of Corvallis, Mont. (High School Senior) and Ruthi Solari of Solana Beach, Calif. (Graduate Student).

In addition to the national scholarship recipients, 20 Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Regional Honorees will each receive a $1,000 grant in their name to support the hunger-related charity of their choice. The 2012 regional honorees are:

The Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Scholarship is named for Sodexo Foundation's founder and former president, who was an unstoppable champion in the fight to end hunger. Thanks to Steve's efforts, which made these scholarships possible, an emerging generation of leaders now joins the fight against hunger. To date, Sodexo Foundation has recognized 90 STOP Hunger Regional Honorees with grants totaling $90,000 for their hunger-relief charities. In addition, it has awarded 30 students with $260,000 in scholarships and matching grants for the hunger-relief charities of their choice.

ABOUT SODEXO'S FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER
Sodexo Inc. and Sodexo Foundation work to help end hunger in the United States. Sodexo Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission to end childhood hunger. The foundation works to ensure that every child in the United States, especially those most at-risk, grows up with dependable access to enough nutritious food to enable them to lead a healthy, productive life. Sodexo Foundation cultivates and maintains strategic partnerships with regional and national hunger relief entities and youth mobilization organizations—all part of Sodexo's STOP Hunger Initiative, its global program to end hunger and malnutrition in the communities where it operates. Sodexo is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md. and funds all administrative costs for Sodexo Foundation, which since 1999 has made more than $17 million in grants to end childhood hunger. Visit www.SodexoFoundation.org for more information.

SOURCE Sodexo, Inc.