Helping to overcome poor nutrition in communities across the UK and Ireland, Stop Hunger helps by giving grants to charity partners including FareShare, the Trussell Trust and Magic Breakfast.
The Foundation dinner, which took place at The Dorchester Hotel (London), provided Sodexo’s 500 guests with insight into how the money raised promotes healthy lifestyles and food to those in need.
Regional chair aid, Sean Haley, commented: “The Foundation dinner is an important event in the Sodexo calendar, where we have the opportunity to recognise our colleagues who go over and above to help our charitable efforts and shine the light on the issues that exist within our communities around food poverty.
“By raising awareness - as well as money - we aim to help alleviate the issue for as many people as we can.”
It also marked the company’s 10-year partnership anniversary with the charity Fareshare, for whom it has raised £1 million.
FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell said: “FareShare takes good quality, in-date food from the food industry and redistributes it to vulnerable people through a network of 10,000 charities across the UK.
“Without long-term partnerships with organisations such as Sodexo, we wouldn’t be able to support nearly as many people, or get as much food to good causes.
“Working together we can combat food waste and tackle food poverty.”
As well as this, Sodexo recognised employees’ fundraising efforts with four awards given out on the night:
- Best Charity Champion - Mark Howie for his commitment to organising fundraising initiatives and encouraging work colleagues to get involved
- Stop Hunger Day Award - Tim Fagan, two weeks into a new role, he arranged a charity auction for SSAFA and Stop Hunger, with 180 guests raising over £51,000
- Most Innovative Fundraising Idea - Marie Arthur a driving force behind the 2018 ‘Stop Hunger Santa Dash’ event, which was such a success it will continue as an annual event
- Volunteering Award - Omy Lawal for her commitment to supporting the Foundation’s charity partners