The Sodexo Foundation Names Kerwin M. Higashi a Hero of Everyday Life for His Commitment to Fight Hunger

GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kerwin M. Higashi is co-founder of the Vertically Integrated Partnership (VIP), a coalition of farmers, food processors, food distributors and other food service companies working together to stop hunger in the Pacific Northwest. Higashi's commitment to helping those less fortunate earned him recognition by the Sodexo Foundation as a 2011 Hero of Everyday Life. Higashi will be honored by the anti-hunger charitable arm of Sodexo, Inc., at the foundation's annual fundraising dinner on June 9 in Washington, D.C., where he will also receive a $5,000 grant for the hunger-related charity of his choice, Food Lifeline.

Under Higashi's leadership, VIP has donated over three million pounds of food to the hungry in the past three years. He has been a key contributor to the success of VIP, serving as co-chair, encouraging growth in the partnership and coordinating donations and volunteers. As vice president of Campus for Sodexo, Higashi has consistently inspired hundreds of Sodexo volunteers to assist in repacking efforts at several local food banks including Food Lifeline, where he currently serves on the Board of Directors.

"Kerwin Higashi is a great example of how each of us should take hunger personally, providing real solutions to people in the communities around us," said Robert A. Stern, president, the Sodexo Foundation. "It is especially important where childhood hunger is concerned given the life-long impact that a reliable source of food can make in a child's health and academic performance."

One in four people in a soup kitchen line is a child, and more than one in three households served by food pantries includes children. In 1999 the Sodexo Foundation was created to advance Sodexo's commitment to fight hunger. In January 2011 it announced a renewed commitment 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.

Higashi is one of eight Heroes of Everyday Life recognized by the Sodexo Foundation. The other heroes include: Angel L. Gonzalez, Camden, N.J.; Charmion Wood, Gaithersburg, Md.; Frances M. Williams, Philadelphia, Pa.; Julia Pipkins, Carrollton, Texas.; Lucas Minor, Bellingham, Wash.; Patty Johnson, Willowbrook, Ill.; Ryan Wilson, Allison Park, Pa.

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Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Daily Life Solutions company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On Site Service Solutions in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, as well as Motivation Solutions such as Esteem Pass. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $15 million in grants to fight hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

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Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations. Based on this conviction, Sodexo acts as the strategic partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and employee well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo's 380,000 employees in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled array of On Site Service Solutions and Motivation Solutions. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the fulfillment of its employees and the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates.

SOURCE Sodexo Foundation