Sodexho Employees Work to STOP Hunger by Donating 100 Tons of Food to Local Food Banks

GAITHERSBURG, MD, June 6, 2005 - Sodexho USA, the nation's leading provider of food and facilities management services, announced today that the results are in and more than 100 tons of food was donated to local food banks across the country as part of Servathon, its annual month-long service initiative to help fight hunger.

Servathon, a company-sponsored program, is held annually throughout April to promote awareness of hunger and encourage employees to work to fight hunger in their communities. This year, more than 25,000 meals were provided to families at risk for hunger through Servathon. In addition Sodexho employees volunteered at food banks and other food rescue organizations.

“As we get closer to National Hunger Awareness Day on June 7, it is important to remember that there are still many people in our communities who are at risk for hunger,” said Stephen J. Brady, president of the Sodexho Foundation, the independent, charitable organization of Sodexho. “Each year through Servathon, our employees demonstrate their commitment to creating a hunger-free nation by sponsoring canned food drives, volunteering in food banks, and holding fundraisers to benefit the Sodexho Foundation and its efforts to stop hunger.”

Nearly 30,000 employees participated in this year's Servathon with events held in 37 states and the District of Columbia.

Sodexho USA and the Sodexho Foundation have supported many initiatives to fight the root causes of hunger and most recently announced support of Ending Childhood Hunger in the Nation's Capital: A Strategic Plan to Ensure Nutritious and Affordable Food for Every Child, an initiative lead by D.C. Hunger Solutions, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and Share Our Strength, which will seek to eradicate childhood hunger in Washington, D.C. Sodexho is also the sponsor of the U.S. Conference of Mayors-Sodexho Hunger and Homelessness Survey 2004, whose findings revealed that hunger and homelessness continued to rise in major American cities during the past year, particularly among families.

Sodexho continues to make a difference each day as one of the biggest donors of surplus perishable and non-perishable food to America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization. Additionally, the Sodexho Foundation helps fill a critical need through its Feeding Our Future program that provides free meals to children who receive free and reduced-cost lunches during the school year and might otherwise go hungry during the summer. Last summer, through Feeding Our Future, the Sodexho Foundation provided more than 183,000 meals to at-risk children in eleven cities nationwide.

In total, the Sodexho Foundation has provided grants to more than 65 hunger relief and educational organizations this year, including local food banks across the nation, totaling more than $1.4 million.

About the Sodexho Foundation
The Sodexho Foundation is an independent charitable organization that is leading the fight against hunger by supporting initiatives that focus on eliminating the root causes of hunger in the US. Administrative costs are paid by Sodexho USA to ensure that all money raised is directed to those in need. For additional information about the Sodexho Foundation, go to www.sodexofoundation.org.

Sodexho USA (www.sodexo.com) is the leading provider of food and facilities management in the United States, with $6 billion in annual revenue and 110,000+ employees. Sodexho USA offers innovative outsourcing solutions in food service, housekeeping, grounds keeping, plant operations and maintenance, asset management, and laundry services to more than 6,000 corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, military and remote sites in North America. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Sodexho USA proudly serves as the official food service provider for the US Marine Corps.