Sodexo's fundraising Foundation Dinner raises £40,000 for STOP Hunger

More than 360 guests dug deep at the Sodexo Foundation Dinner which took place at London's Royal Garden Hotel. The event was the grand finale to the year's STOP Hunger fundraising activity, a campaign that aims to tackle poor nutrition in local communities across the UK. The evening was also used to celebrate the fundraising efforts of two Sodexo employees who went above and beyond to help the campaign. Aidan Connolly, chief executive for Sodexo UK & Ireland, presented Neil Watts from Sodexo's Defence division, with the Charity Champion Award. Watts and his team of regional charity "champions" helped Sodexo Defence raise a massive £68,000 for STOP Hunger in a year. Watts won the award for his continued support in organising fundraising events such as the Yorkshire Three-Peaks challenge and a charity ball. Meanwhile Andrea Lunn-Courtnell, who works in the company's marketing and purchasing division, was presented with the Merit Award for her commitment to STOP Hunger over the last year. In particular, Lunn-Courtnell was praised for raising 7.5 tonnes of surplus fit-for-consumption food for national food redistribution and food poverty charity FareShare. Michel Landel, Sodexo group chief executive, attended the dinner and gave a speech on the success of the STOP Hunger campaign since it began in 1996 in the US. Thomas Jelley, Sodexo corporate citizenship manager, said: "Throughout the year, Sodexo employees commit their time, energy and imagination to the Sodexo Foundation STOP Hunger campaign in all manner of weird and wonderful ways. The awards and review of last year's activities shows just what an important part of our business ethos STOP Hunger has become."