The Sodexo Foundation Recognizes Eight Heroes of Everyday Life for Actively Fighting Hunger in America

GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sodexo Foundation, the anti-hunger charitable arm of Sodexo, Inc., named eight Sodexo employees as 2011 Heroes of Everyday Life for their exemplary efforts fighting hunger in America. Nominated by colleagues, friends, or employers, honorees will each receive a $5,000 grant for the hunger-related charity of their choosing. They will also be formally recognized at the foundation's annual fundraising dinner tonight in Washington, D.C.

"These inspiring individuals understand that hunger among children and their families is not simply a third world reality," said Robert A. Stern, president, the Sodexo Foundation. "They are witnesses to the fact that hunger is where we least expect it – everywhere; and we honor them for giving without measure in their efforts to eradicate it."

The Sodexo Foundation 2011 Heroes of Everyday Life are:

• Angel L. Gonzalez, Sodexo housekeeper at Campbell Soup Company, Camden, N.J., for devoting 15 hours each week preparing and serving food to homeless men and woman in his community, and distributing approximately 60,000 meals in his lifetime.

• Charmion Wood, Sodexo general manager at Landon School, Bethesda, Md., for instructing cooking courses – 288 hours in all – that bring cooking skills and nutrition information to low-income populations that are at risk of going hungry.

• Frances M. Williams, Sodexo cook at PNC Bank, Philadelphia, Pa., for opening a ministry consisting of 80 volunteers, to provide meals, clothing, and emotional support to those in need in her community.

• Julia Pipkins, Sodexo senior instructional designer, Sodexo, Carrolton, Texas for working for more than a decade to help families and children facing hunger, making sure that more than 700 low-income families receive the life skills they need to break the poverty cycle.

• Kerwin M. Higashi, vice president of Education-Campus for Sodexo, Redmond, Wash., for co-founding Vertically Integrated Partnership, a coalition of food industry organizations with the goal of fighting hunger in the Pacific Northwest that has donated over three million pounds of food to the area's hungry during the past three years.

• Lucas Minor, Sodexo marketing coordinator at Western Washington University, Bellingham, Wash., for working tirelessly to sort and distribute food donations on a weekly basis with his volunteer group, and collecting more than a thousand pounds of food for the community's homeless veterans this year alone.

• Patty Johnson, Sodexo vice president, Corporate, Willowbrook, Ill., who, through her volunteer work, has personally distributed nearly 15,000 pounds of food, and helped secure donations of over $54,000 for her local food bank.

• Ryan Wilson, Sodexo general manager at Beaver Area School District, Beaver, Pa., for increasing local participation in the Summer Food Service Program and the Backpack Food Program, along with coordinating food drives that have provided over 54,000 meals to families and children in need.

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