Various canned food, pasta and cereals in a cardboard box. Food donations or food delivery concept. D

Sodexo Healthcare quickly rallied partners together to ensure a surplus of 139 pallets of emergency ready-to-eat meals from Detroit did not go to waste. In collaboration with Move For Hunger and Nelson Westerberg, the palettes were successfully transported from Michigan to their neighbors in Chicago at Sinai Community Institute and the Greater Chicago Food Depository, according to a press release.

“Leveraging the reach of our Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and our large footprint of clinical dieticians and nutrition services across the country, Sodexo’s mission has always been to provide nutritious meals and help people live healthy lives,” says Catherine J. Tabaka, CEO, Sodexo Healthcare North America. “The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many and the resulting economic impact demonstrates how rapidly one can be at risk of hunger – especially in vulnerable communities – which is why we are making sure that no resources go to waste.”

The Greater Chicago Food Depository opened its doors to accept all 139 pallets on Sinai Health System’s behalf and is working in partnership to store and distribute the meals to local Chicagoland communities served by Sinai. In addition, the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation is donating $100,000 to the Food Depository. As families are navigating various challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, these funds will aid the Food Depository in their tireless work to meet the unprecedented need as they continue to serve families nutritious meals across Chicago and all of Cook County.

“During times like these, it is more important than ever to come together to fight for a shared mission,” says Kate Maehr, executive director and CEO, Food Depository. “Hunger and the need for nutritious food has never been greater. Donations like these help us continue to provide support and resources to communities who continue to struggle from the impacts of the pandemic.”

With the help of Move For Hunger and their volunteer transportation partner, Nelson Westerberg of Illinois, the meals were transported from Romulus, Michigan to Chicago over the course of three days and over 280 miles.