Women empowerment at the heart of Stop Hunger’s actions
Stop Hunger continues to prioritize women empowerment, proven to be one of the most effective ways to eradicate hunger. In Fiscal 2022, Stop Hunger supported 44 women empowerment programs and initiatives impacting more than 23,000 women in 30 countries. In total, Stop Hunger has invested 7.8 million dollars U.S. on women empowerment initiatives over the past seven years. Each year at its annual Supporters Evening in France, Stop Hunger presents its eponymous award to remarkable individuals who are leading women empowerment initiatives. A total of 33 laureates have received the Stop Hunger Award since 2017. The laureates each receive 10,000 euros to support the development of their initiative, and further financial support through a public crowdfunding campaign. This year’s Stop Hunger awardees were Claire Butez, founder of the charity les Enfants de Kavresthali in Nepal; Flerette Alexis, model farmer with the NGO CARE in Haiti; Abdoulaye Ndiaye, director of ASI (Actions de Solidarité Internationale) in Congo and Laure-Marie Planchon, manager of les Tremplins du Coeur, an arm of the French charity les Restos du Coeur. The crowdfunding campaign brought a further 32,475 euros of support to their projects.
Fundraising
In 2022, Stop Hunger was able to resume its fundraising events, which raised two thirds of its funds. In France, Stop Hunger gathered more than 500 attendees at its annual Supporters Evening on March 10, 2022, raising more than 710,000 euros. Themed around “Feeding the Future”, the event put a spotlight on the role of women as pioneers in lifting their families and communities out of extreme vulnerability. Sodexo’s Benefits & Rewards Services also played a key role in fundraising, with more than 349,000 euros raised in France in aid of “Restos du Coeur” and Action Against Hunger, and 433,485 Brazilian real contributed in Brazil through the Stop Hunger Food Pass. In Luxembourg, Sodexo Lunch Pass users donated 28,600 euros to support social grocery stores in aid of households in need through a partnership with Caritas Luxembourg.
Volunteering
Initiated 26 years ago by Sodexo employees in the United States, Stop Hunger has always been an employee-led movement. Volunteers drive its action and are essential to its impact. Servathon, Stop Hunger’s annual food collection and fundraising drive, has been the global focus of volunteering activities for the past 25 years. In 2022, Servathon brought together more than 4,700 volunteers across 38 countries, raising over 367,000 dollars U.S. and donating more than 116,000 meals to support over 178,000 beneficiaries suffering from hunger and food insecurity. All actions were led by Sodexo volunteers in partnership with local NGOs. Stop Hunger also harnesses the wide range of Sodexo skills by organizing YEAH! missions (Your Engagement Against Hunger). Lasting between three days and two weeks, these missions match the skills of Sodexo experts in over 20 domains with the needs of WFP and other NGO partners in aid of local communities. To date, 77 Sodexo employees have volunteered to take part in YEAH! missions in 21 countries.