Supported by Sodexo’s own charity, the Sodexo Foundation, the partnership sees new resource packs available to help cubs and scouts work towards the new Sodexo Chef Activity badge.
Thomas Jelley, Sodexo’s corporate citizenship manager said: “The Sodexo Foundation was established in 2005 and since then has raised over £1.5 million to support charitable causes linked to hunger, health and nutrition, and life skills such as cooking.
“We feel that these objectives fit perfectly with The Scout Association and we are delighted to be able to help cubs and scouts develop their knowledge and proficiency in areas such as health and nutrition; food safety; planning and cooking skills.”
As part of the sponsorship, Sodexo has developed resource packs for both the cubs and scouts: the pack includes leaders notes; activity pack, food safety cards, a funky food facts top-trumps-style game; a meal map workbook; recipe pack and a certificate.
In addition to the resource pack, Sodexo has also made available its ‘Life’s Better Balanced’ board game to both cubs and scouts.
Devised by the company’s NVQ qualified nutrition champions early last year and distributed to around a thousand primary schools across the UK where it provides catering services, the board game aims to help children, who are aged between five and 11, understand the building blocks of a healthy diet.
Nikki Mason, head of corporate partnerships at The Scout Association said: “We are delighted that Sodexo is supporting the cub and scout chef activity badges. Learning through doing’ is a key component of the scouting experience.
“Supervised, fun cooking activities delivered indoors and outside, give young scouts a great opportunity to learn about healthy eating, prepare food and take responsibility for creating their own meals.
“The experiences they gain through completing the Sodexo Chef Activity Badge will provide skills which will stay with them for life.”