Southern student Jierah Reid, ’22, was recently named one of 30 randomly selected winners in Sodexo’s “Spread The Joy Sweepstakes” as part of its fall resident dining promotion series. Sodexo is the university’s dining services provider. This national prize sweepstakes focused on the positive things we can spread – like joy to others – giving students across the United States the chance to win one of 30 $500 donations made in their name to their campus food pantry or a local hunger-related charity. This comes at a time when food pantries are deeply in need of donations, given the COVID-19 environment. Reid selected the SCSU Food Pantry as her charity beneficiary. In addition to the donation, Reid will receive a $100 VISA® gift card to spend any way she would like. Reid presented the food pantry with her $500 donation at a recent event held in the food pantry, which is located in the Wintergreen Building.
The SCSU Food Pantry opened October 28, 2020, and 40 dedicated volunteers ran the pantry six days a week during the fall semester. To date, over 1,400 lbs. of food have helped 50 SCSU student shoppers in 132 visits. The food pantry is open over the semester break on Mondays from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and Wednesday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The pantry recently added a baby section of diapers, food, and wipes. There are plans to stock more refrigerated and frozen items to better support the needs of SCSU students.
Reid is a junior at Southern. She is majoring in Healthcare Studies with a concentration in Clinical Research and a minor in Public Health. Reid is an active member of the Southern community; she has been involved in the Residence Hall Association since her freshman year and is currently serving as an RA. Reid is passionate about supporting others and says the SCSU Food Pantry is something she is a huge advocate of. Of the sweepstakes win, Reid said, “I want more students to be able to benefit from the food pantry. My hope is to eliminate the stigma that may be attached to the service and instead have the food pantry embraced as an valuable campus resource. There are so many students who are in need, whether they’re residents or commuters, I want them to see this and know about it. I hope this will raise awareness and build momentum for the SCSU Food Pantry so it can continue to expand its offerings and become something more people are comfortable utilizing.”
Featured at more than 600 Sodexo-managed colleges and universities nationwide, Sodexo’s fall resident dining promotion series featured a number of safe, physically distant events for students in addition to the Spread The Joy Sweepstakes. Two core dining showcase events, #RockTheBlock and Foodie Revolution, celebrated the beautiful outdoor weather and capitalized on the historic 2020 election with themed foods, activities and more.
Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), the leading Quality of Life services company in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, delivers On-site Services in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government and Remote Site segments, as well as Benefits and Rewards Services and Personal and Home Services. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation (HelpStopHunger.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $22 million in grants to end childhood hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at blogs.sodexousa.com.
