Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation announced its 2023 Heroes of Everyday Life®. Five Sodexo employees, including our own Becky S., received a $5,000 grant to continue their work to fight food insecurity within their communities.
The Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation awards Sodexo employees who invest time, talent, and resources to fight hunger in their communities. These employees, recognized as Heroes of Everyday Life®, are honored for their efforts raising funds and awareness, coordinating food drives, volunteering in food pantries, and supporting food recovery programs among other outreach.
Becky shared her experience both with Sodexo and the Watertown PACH program, "I have been a Clinical Nutrition Manager with Sodexo at the Prairie Lakes Healthcare System for the last 16 years. In 2011 I became involved with the PACH (People Against Child Hunger) program. Due to my career as a registered dietitian, I was asked to plan the menus for PACH and I have been in several different roles since. From a volunteer board member to now president of the board for the last 3 years it has really allowed me to see how this program helps families in our community. During our pilot program in 2011 we were packing about 100 bags of food and this year we averaged 521 bags a week. PACH is 100% volunteer-based and I have also been honored to work with amazing board members and volunteers who share the same passion as me, stopping child hunger."
Becky also added, "In June, Sodexo held their annual Charity Classic presented by PepsiCo in Colorado Springs where they celebrated this year’s Heroes of Everyday Life. I was one of five heroes in the United States to receive this recognition." Becky and her husband earned a vacation, along with the four other 2023 Hero of Everyday Life award winners, where they were able to network, attend various festivities, and meet with national Sodexo leaders.
Families shared the following thoughts about how the local PACH program has benefitted their family:
- "It has helped my family by ensuring we have food. There have been times when it got us by until we were able to buy groceries again. This is one of the best programs this community has."
- “We struggle monthly, the PACH program has helped my kids when we were low on food."
- “This is a wonderful program. This has helped us because we don't receive food assistance. Being a single mom, money is always tight."
Thank you, Becky, for your devotion and commitment to the families in need in the region. Another incredible example of Prairie Lakes Healthcare System and Sodexo employees serving as a keystone of our community. You are definitely a Hero of Everyday Life!
