Maryland No Kid Hungry Campaign Strengthened With New Corporate Commitment from Sodexo Foundation
Posted by Nancy Withbroe on Monday, January 31, 2011
Share Our Strength® is pleased to announce today a renewed partnership with the Sodexo Foundation to help fight childhood hunger nationally. Together, Share Our Strength and the Sodexo Foundation will ensure that kids have access to nutritious food during summer months when school-based programs are not open, and mobilize the youth of America to join the cause.
Building on more than 10 years leading the fight against hunger, the Sodexo Foundation is making a renewed commitment to focus on those most vulnerable, the more than 17 million children in the U.S. who face hunger. This afternoon, Sodexo executives will join the Maryland Governor’s Office for Children, Share Our Strength, Youth Service America and the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland as part of Share Our Strength’s Maryland No Kid Hungry® campaign to announce a renewed commitment: new multi-year partnerships with Share Our Strength and Youth Service America to help end childhood hunger nationwide.
Sodexo has been a leader among companies committed to this cause, both in Maryland and nationwide, and the Sodexo Foundation’s extraordinary commitment demonstrates how powerful private-public partnerships can be in working together to end childhood hunger.
The Sodexo Foundation’s partnership with Share Our Strength includes a three-year commitment of $2.1 million to facilitate increased participation in summer meals among low-income kids and to engage young people in the fight to end childhood hunger:
- A $480,000 award to increase participation in summer meal programs among eligible low-income kids in Maryland, Sodexo’s headquarters state, continuing a commitment that began in 2009. Average daily participation in summer meals grew 10 percent in 2010, thanks in part to Sodexo’s support of Share Our Strength’s outreach. Our collaboration with the Maryland Governor’s Office for Children, the Maryland Partnership to End Childhood Hunger and many public and private organizations will have a much deeper and broader impact over the next three years with this sustained investment by Sodexo.
- A $600,000 award to increase participation in summer meal programs in Florida and Virginia. Share Our Strength’s outreach efforts in Florida have already had a tremendous impact, thanks to our partnership with Florida Impact, serving 33 percent more children in one county last summer than in 2009. But, statewide only 14% of eligible children participate in the program. In Virginia, just 18 percent of eligible kids participate in summer meals. Share Our Strength will launch a No Kid Hungry campaign in Virginia later in 2011.
- A $410,000 award to mobilize and engage young people through a collaborative effort between Share Our Strength and Youth Service America, including an online youth action center and a childhood hunger youth ambassadors program.
- Additional funding to enable Share Our Strength to develop and disseminate a toolkit summarizing best practices in summer meals outreach; hire staff to facilitate partnerships in Maryland, Virginia and Florida; and build capacity to have even greater impact.
In conjunction with the Sodexo Foundation announcement, a broad coalition of government, business and non-profit representatives met today in Baltimore to discuss how to connect even more children to Maryland’s growing Summer Food Service Program.
We look forward to keeping you posted on our progress in Maryland, Florida and Virginia and sharing exciting opportunities for children and youth to be part of the solution in ending childhood hunger in America.
January 31, 2011 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: childhood hunger, partners, Sodexo, summer meals
Post a comment
All fields are required (your e-mail address will not be displayed)