Fighting Hunger, Sharing Strength

Food isn’t just our business. At Sysco, it’s also our passion and our purpose as we fight to put an end to hunger
Jul 10, 2019 11:30 AM ET

Originally published in Sysco Foodie

Sysco is committed to helping the millions of Americans who struggle with food insecurity and hunger, providing both financial and volunteer resources to local organizations. We currently allocate 75 percent of our community donations and volunteer activities toward hunger relief, and as part of our 2025 Corporate Social Responsibility Goals, we plan to donate 200 million meals and $50 million dedicated toward alleviating hunger and food insecurity in the communities we serve.

One of the ways Sysco is working to end hunger is through our long-standing partnership with Share Our Strength. For nearly two decades, Sysco has partnered with the nonprofit organization dedicated to ending hunger and poverty in the United States and abroad, including key support for its No Kid Hungry campaign, which focuses on ending childhood hunger in the U.S. And for the past seven years, Sysco has proudly served as National Co-Presenting Sponsor of Taste of the Nation, an annual culinary event series benefiting No Kid Hungry. Created in 1988 by Share Our Strength Co-Founders Billy and Debbie Shore, Taste of the Nation is one of the longest-running culinary events in the country and has raised more than $100 million to end childhood hunger. The events take place in 20 cities annually, and each one features dozens of celebrated local chefs, mixologists and sommeliers serving savory and sweet tastings for attendees.

The importance of Sysco’s partnership with this series is recognized not only by the local communities in which the events take place but also across Share Our Strength, according to Debbie Shore:

Sysco’s incredible support makes Taste of the Nation possible. We are incredibly grateful for their passion, commitment and partnership, and look forward to continuing to work together to make great strides in ending childhood hunger across the United States.

One in six children in America struggles with hunger, but the No Kid Hungry campaign aims to change that. Since the campaign’s launch, over a billion meals have been served to kids across the country, thanks in large part to partners like Sysco.

The No Kid Hungry campaign helps schools make breakfast part of the school day to reach more kids facing hunger in the classroom, expands programs that serve kids meals during the summer break and after the school day ends and teaches families to stretch their food dollars and cook healthy meals through nutrition education programs.

Sysco extends its support of No Kid Hungry beyond dollars with in-kind product donations and employee volunteerism. Together, we can make a difference in a child’s life, one meal at a time.

Check to see if there’s a Taste of the Nation event coming to a city near you at NoKidHungry.org/Taste.