The government shutdown has ended, but hunger hasn’t. Neumann joined forces with Sodexo last week to produce 150 gallons of chicken soup for neighbors facing food insecurity.
Students and faculty members joined Sodexo volunteers in the Dining Hall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on November 21 where they chopped, cooked, and packaged more than 1,600 meals for those in need.
They participated in the Big Soup community service project, portioning the soup into five-gallon containers for delivery to ACCESS Chester.
ACCESS Chester is a community center that offers educational, social, and recreational experiences for all residents of the city. The organization provides hot lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and grocery bag distributions on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Some of the soup was poured into quart containers for delivery to the Knights’ Pantry, the campus food bank for students.
Neumann students, Sodexo staff, and volunteers carefully portion soup into containers to be distributed to those in need.
“Across the world, people are facing food insecurity, and Delaware County is no exception,” explained Todd Young, district manager for Sodexo Education. “There are over 43,000 people who are food insecure in this county. We want to do our part to help in this ongoing battle by this donation that will not only help feed our neighbors but show them, through homemade soup made by our campus community, that we care.”
According to Megan Camp, director of service learning and community engagement, “The project is part of Neumann’s commitment to provide 60,000 hours of community service during its 60th anniversary celebration.”
Big Soup is an initiative of Stop Hunger, Sodexo’s philanthropic foundation, in partnership with Nestle. It has been held at Sodexo campuses and kitchens throughout the nation, providing gallons of nourishing soup to those who need it most.
Service has been one of the university’s core values since the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia opened the doors to Our Lady of Angels College in 1965.