Sodexo Volunteers Help Feed the Souls of the City
By Tami Carter-McNulty, Senior Recruiter

Each year, as part of Sodexo’s annual Servathon, thousands of our employees come together for the greater good of the community to provide a better way of life for someone in need. Our Servathon spans the entire month of April and includes volunteer events throughout the country. Employees volunteer their time to create fundraisers, food drives and various projects around fighting hunger everywhere.

Relying on volunteers for such events is at the heart of D.C. Central Kitchen, a facility centered on feeding those less fortunate. D.C. Central Kitchen is a central location to recover unused food, prepare and deliver meals to partner social service agencies, and train and employ homeless men and women for the food service industry. They recycle over one ton of surplus food each day that would otherwise go to waste and turn it into 4,500 daily, nutritious meals for the greater Washington, D.C. region.

Jim Burke, VP, Operations - Corporate Services and Dawn Totaram, General Manager - Corporate Services volunteering at D.C. Central Kitchen.

This April, Sodexo employees volunteered to prepare meals at D.C. Central Kitchen that were distributed throughout the metro area. According to Sodexo Senior Recruiter, LaShawn Dukes, who participated in the event, “Assisting D.C. Central Kitchen in preparing meals for the ‘souls of the city’ was a rewarding experience. Moreover, the time was well spent with colleagues who recognize and value the humanitarianism of community service.”

Sodexo Senior Recruiter Derren Thompson was similarly moved: "Being able to talk with the workers who are striving to do well and be more was simply tremendous, not to mention that we played an important role in thousands of people’s lives in the District being fed that evening."

At the end of the day when the last onion is cut and the final meal is prepared, their overall mission is this: to use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds and build communities.

Are you interested in making a difference in your community? Check out how you can become a catalyst for change by visiting www.feedingamerica.org.

Sodexo employees at the recent volunteer event at D.C. Central Kitchen: Reggie Stewart, LaShawn Dukes, Tami Carter-McNulty, Derren Thompson and Neil Kilgallon.