The Sodexo Foundation Recognizes Efforts of Young People Fighting Hunger in Their Communities

GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Fourth Grade twins who started an organization to celebrate families moving out of homeless shelters; and a twelfth grader who started knocking on her neighbor's doors to collect food for the hungry in her community are two of the five national  Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Scholarship recipients recognized by the Sodexo Foundation at its annual fundraising dinner in Washington, D.C. on June 9. The Foundation, the anti-hunger charitable arm of Sodexo, Inc., will honor each of the scholarship recipients with $5,000 for their education as well as a matching grant in their name for the hunger-related charity of their choice.

"Each of these recipients demonstrates that today's youth realize that one person, no matter how young, can make a difference in fighting hunger in their communities. They're volunteering their time, founding non-profit organizations, and rallying entire communities," said Robert A. Stern, president, the Sodexo Foundation. "These exceptional young leaders are mobilizing their generation and inspiring others to get out and make a difference."

The five national Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Scholarship recipients who were selected from more than 7000 applicants are:

• Amy and Emma Bushman, Fourth Grade, Sherwood Elementary School, of Cincinnati, Ohio, established Bake Me Home in 2008, a non-profit organization, that has provided tote bags filled with homemade cookie mix and a gift card for the local grocery to help families who move out of the area homeless shelter. To date, Bake Me Home has helped 200 families every year and raised over $35,000 with the help of more than 100 volunteers. Amy and Emma plan to donate their $5,000 grant to Bake Me Home.

• Jonathan Crider, Eleventh Grade, Central High School, of Marlow, OK founder of the Lawton Food 4 Kids Rock-A-Thon, an event that rallies the entire community to fundraise for the Lawton Food 4 Kids program and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. Jonathan's Rock-A-Thons have raised over $45,000 for Food 4 Kids and helped provide backpacks filled with kid-friendly food to more than 350 children for the entire school year. Jonathan plans to donate his $5,000 grant the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

• Erika Ferguson, Freshman, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill of Northfield, NJ, has been devoting her time over several years to grant-writing and fundraising for the Rescue Mission Farm Project which yielded a $2,500 grant for the farm, dozens of youth volunteers, and helped to harvest nearly 50,000 pounds of fresh produce for the Mission's clients. Erika hopes to join the Peace Corps and ultimately eliminate hunger through urban farming initiatives. Erika plans to donate her $5,000 grant to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission, Inc.

• Nicole P. Muller, Twelfth Grade, Western Albemarle High School, of Charlottesville, VA was shocked to learn about her community's food shortage problem and started to help by collecting 220 pounds of food from her 12 neighbors that fed 178 people.  Shortly after, Nicole founded the Neighbors-4-Neighbors national food drive initiative that has collected 145,000 pounds of food and more than $20,000, providing meals for more than 100,000 people.  Nicole plans to donate her $5,000 grant to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

• Travis Robinson, Freshman, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, of Taneytown, MD has been implementing regular food drives in his community for the past four years helping raise more than 31,000 pounds of food for Carroll County Food Sunday, Inc. and more than 10,400 pounds of food for Carroll's Pets in Need. Travis plans to donate his $5,000 grant to Carroll County Food Sunday, Inc.

The Sodexo Foundation was created in 1999 to advance Sodexo's commitment to fight hunger and this past January 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.

The Stephen J. Brady STOP Hunger Scholarship is named in memory of the Sodexo Foundation's former president, who was an unstoppable champion in the fight to end hunger.  Thanks to Steve Brady's efforts, which made these scholarships possible, an emerging generation of leaders is taking up the fight against hunger.

In addition, 20 Regional Honorees will each receive a $1,000 grant in their name to support the hunger-related charity of their choice. The regional honorees are as follows:

About Sodexo

Sodexo in North America

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.

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions

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