Sodexo, Hirai Farms, Annie’s Fun, and Pepsico/Frito-Lay Hold Special Food Donation and Volunteer Event at Food Lifeline

SHORELINE, Wash., April 15 /PRNewswire/ — On Tuesday, April 13th, Sodexo, Hirai Farms, Annie’s Fun, and Pepsico/Frito-Lay teamed up to hold a special food donation and volunteer event at Food Lifeline’s Shoreline Repack Center.

For the event, Hirai Farms and Annie’s Fun donated 80,000 pounds of potatoes and Farmer Bean Company donated 25,000 pounds of beans, while Pepsico/Frito-Lay donated several cases of bulk baked Tostitos.

According to Linda Nageotte, the President & CEO of Food Lifeline, the donation will provide more than 50,000 meals for hungry people in Washington State (http://shoreline.komonews.com/content/food-lifeline-receives-enough-donations-feed-50000).

Over 50 employees from Sodexo attended the event to repack the food into family-sized packages for distribution to Food Lifeline’s network of nearly 300 local food banks, meal programs and shelters throughout Western Washington, which will help meet the growing need for food during these uncertain economic times.

“We are truly grateful to Sodexo, Hirai Farms, Annie’s Fun, Farmer Bean Company and PepsiCo/Frito-Lay for donating their time and this much-needed food during an economic time that leaves more people at risk of hunger and more food banks searching for the resources needed to feed these individuals throughout Washington State,” stated Nageotte during the event. “The generosity of partners like these is helping Food Lifeline make great strides toward its goal of ending hunger.”

Several special guests attended the April 13th event, including:

• Steve Hobbs, Washington State Senator, Lake Stevens, Washington;
• Sheila Babb, Deputy State Director for US Senator Patty Murray;
• Nate Caminos, King County Director for US Senator Maria Cantwell;
• Pete Mills, Community Liaison for US Representative Jay Inslee;
• Keith McGlashan, Mayor of Shoreline, WA & Shari Tracey, Councilmember, Shoreline, WA.

The above mentioned special guests addressed the volunteers and food donors at the event, and expressed appreciation for their generous efforts.

Blaine Hirai, CEO and Owner of Hirai Farms and Chairman of Annie’s Fun, and Sharmeen Hawkins, Vice President of Sodexo’s Metropolitan Business Group, also addressed the volunteers and audience members at the event.

Following are links to photos from the April 13th event:

Photo of Linda Nageotte speaking at event (https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscOTBkY2NjYzMtMTllMy00OTA3LWI2YTItNzdiMmZiMjI5NDQ1&sort=name&layout=list&num=50);

Photo of Blaine Hirai speaking at event (https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscNzExNGZjYWYtNjc5Mi00NTc3LThmZjgtYzEzYmJjZjAzYTQy&sort=name&layout=list&num=50);

Photo of Sharmeen Hawkins speaking at event (https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscZGNjZjI5ZTMtYThjOC00NDk1LWI0YjEtMDYyY2ZlOWRmMmM2&sort=name&layout=list&num=50);

Photo of Sodexo volunteers repacking food at event (https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscMjEyYzFlNzItMTNkNi00ZmYxLTkxODQtOWU3ZjY2ZjJlYTkw&sort=name&layout=list&num=50);

Photo of Steve Hobbs speaking at event (https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscOTI0NWJlMTItOWVmMy00Y2VmLWIxYzItMDM4NTc1OTQ4M2Ey&sort=name&layout=list&num=50);

Photo of Sheila Babb speaking at event (https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscOWNkMmNlMGQtOGQyNy00MDBmLTg2YmItMzIxNWNmYTJmYTk3&sort=name&layout=list&num=50);

Photo of Nate Caminos speaking at event (https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscNmI1NzFlNGUtN2JhNC00ZGIxLWIzY2MtMWJmNGY3OTIzNWNl&sort=name&layout=list&num=50);

Photo of Pete Mills speaking at event (https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscNmZhMWRlNmMtYWRkNC00YmFiLTkyZDYtYzUyMGYwZmIyZmIz&sort=name&layout=list&num=50);

Photo of Keith McGlashan & Shari Tracey speaking at event (https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscNjExODQwYTYtZDNiOS00Mjg4LWE1OGMtYjhkYWI3YTkxYzFh&sort=name&layout=list&num=50).

For more information, contact Camilla Bishop/Kelsey Beck of Food Lifeline at 206-545-6600 or Blaine Hirai of Annie’s Fun at 509-693-7811.

About Food Lifeline

Food Lifeline (http://www.foodlifeline.org) is a local hunger relief organization, efficiently serving the Western Washington area by using 95% of revenue to directly feed hungry people. Last year the organization delivered 19 million meals to hungry people through its network of nearly 300 food banks, meal programs and shelters. Food Lifeline is also a member of the national organization, Feeding America.

About Hirai Farms / Annie’s Fun

Hirai Farms is a family-owned and operated business in the Columbia Basin of Washington State since 1954. Blaine Hirai and the Hirai family maintain a strong tradition of giving back to local communities in the Pacific Northwest. In 2005, the Hirai family created “Annie’s Fun,” a non-profit, charitable 501(c)(3) organization, named after Blaine’s mother, to help those in need. In the past couple of years, Blaine Hirai and Annie’s Fun (http://www.AnniesFun.org) have donated over a 1.5 million pounds of potatoes, onions and sweet corn to several food banks in Washington State.

About Sodexo

Sodexo is a leading Food and Facilities Management services company. Sodexo has an ongoing commitment to help people who face hunger and malnutrition in the communities it serves. The company’s various programs are coordinated under its “STOP Hunger” (http://www.sodexofoundation.org/) initiative, which now operates in 25 countries. Sodexo employees have contributed to more than 223 hunger-related NGOs and community-based groups since STOP Hunger’s inception more than ten years ago. With the global problem of hunger and malnutrition now afflicting more than a billion people, Sodexo and its 355,000 employees across the globe are making a strong commitment to help donate food, serve meals and raise money for needy people in local communities.

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SOURCE Food Lifeline; Annie’s Fun