Sodexo’s Helping Hands Across America Aims to Fight Hunger and Break Records
By Michele Posehn, Senior Recruiter

Giving thanks and giving back. That’s what many Sodexo employees will be doing in the month of November as the Sodexo Foundation aims to shatter a Guinness World Record through its STOP Hunger program.

The “Helping Hands Across America” promotion was started on October 19 in units across the nation with the goal of breaking the Guinness World Record for the “largest food drive by a non-charitable organization in a 24-hour period over multiple locations.” More than 2,100 Sodexo locations are participating, hoping to exceed the current record of 510,000 pounds of food.

While the underlying challenge of “Helping Hands Across America” has been to continue Sodexo’s presence as one of North America’s largest donors of surplus perishable and non-perishable food, it has created a competitive environment among Sodexo employees and departments. At the North American headquarters in Gaithersburg, each floor has been designated a certain number of donated cans to be achieved, determined by the number of employees on the floor. To date, one floor has reached 100% of their goal with other floors eagerly trying to overtake the lead.

Some units have opted to collect cash donations using the Helping Hands bags. A corporate account has so far raised over $900, equivalent to filling 182 bags with food. A similar effort is being conducted in Sodexo accounts in Puerto Rico, making this initiative not only cross-divisional, but multinational as well.

While breaking the World Record would be an added bonus, the “Helping Hands Across America” promotion truly shows the commitment of Sodexo to addressing the needs of 35 million people in the U.S. at risk of hunger. For more information about the Sodexo Foundation and its efforts in creating a hunger-free nation, click here: The Sodexo Foundation