thedrifter
05-10-06, 06:23 AM
On-base food drive feeds local families
May 10,2006
ANNE CLARK
DAILY NEWS STAFF
As a Marine staff sergeant, Shanas Crawford made sure the troops in the field got fed. As a civilian, he still does. Crawford is a food production manager for Sodexho Government Services, which runs every Marine Corps garrison mess hall in the continental U.S.
There are 15 mess halls aboard the Marine Corps bases in this area, serving as many as 15,000 meals a day between all of them.
During the month of April, Crawford visited each mess hall for a different reason: He was checking on the drop boxes that he hoped would be full of non-perishable food for the Sodexho employees’ fourth annual food drive. This year’s theme was “People Helping People.”
One week into the campaign, Crawford found the boxes brimming with food. The boxes were emptied and set back out for more. Food service employees, Sodexho staff as well as subcontractors, were all asked to participate in the food drive. For the most part they did, showing true compassion for the hungry, said Crawford.
So did the young Marines who eat at the mess halls. They brought items like jars of peanut butter and bags of rice and put them in the drop boxes.
“I always felt the Marine Corps would come through,” said Crawford.
Sodexho employees also went into the community, getting a generous donation from Target. The commissary aboard Camp Lejeune also gave to the food drive.
“We had open arms to anything they could give,” said Crawford, who said he hopes to expand the drive to include clothing next year.
In the end, the area Marine Corps installations — Cherry Point, Camp Lejeune, Camp Johnson, Camp Geiger and New River — collected nearly 10,000 pounds of food. About half of it was distributed in the Cherry Point area; Sodexho employees loaded the other half into a truck and took it straight to the soup kitchen in Jacksonville.
“Without them, we wouldn’t be able to have this place,” said Remy Stitt, soup kitchen director for Onslow Community Ministries. “This will feed a lot of people.”
The soup kitchen serves about 450 people a day through its dining hall and truck deliveries. The Sodexho food drive brought in all sorts of food — the canned vegetables will go into the soup and round out the hot lunches served at the soup kitchen.
Behind the food drive is Robert Lafond, director of concept development for Sodexho Government Services. He launched the annual campaign shortly after he began working aboard Camp Lejeune as an executive chef, supporting Sodexho’s newly-won Marine Corps contracts.
“I had aspirations to return to North Carolina,” said Lafond. “I felt it would be a good fit for me to support a brand new contract, and a noble cause.”
That cause is the nourishment of thousands of American troops a day. Their favorites? A fried seafood platter and chili macaroni. Lafond and his staff also create ethnic menus, served about once a month, to remind the Marines and sailors of their tours in Asia or Germany.
Lafond and his colleagues are also committed to serving the community’s hungry, too.
“I’m very passionate over initiatives like this,” said Lafond. “It’s our obligation to participate.”
Ellie
May 10,2006
ANNE CLARK
DAILY NEWS STAFF
As a Marine staff sergeant, Shanas Crawford made sure the troops in the field got fed. As a civilian, he still does. Crawford is a food production manager for Sodexho Government Services, which runs every Marine Corps garrison mess hall in the continental U.S.
There are 15 mess halls aboard the Marine Corps bases in this area, serving as many as 15,000 meals a day between all of them.
During the month of April, Crawford visited each mess hall for a different reason: He was checking on the drop boxes that he hoped would be full of non-perishable food for the Sodexho employees’ fourth annual food drive. This year’s theme was “People Helping People.”
One week into the campaign, Crawford found the boxes brimming with food. The boxes were emptied and set back out for more. Food service employees, Sodexho staff as well as subcontractors, were all asked to participate in the food drive. For the most part they did, showing true compassion for the hungry, said Crawford.
So did the young Marines who eat at the mess halls. They brought items like jars of peanut butter and bags of rice and put them in the drop boxes.
“I always felt the Marine Corps would come through,” said Crawford.
Sodexho employees also went into the community, getting a generous donation from Target. The commissary aboard Camp Lejeune also gave to the food drive.
“We had open arms to anything they could give,” said Crawford, who said he hopes to expand the drive to include clothing next year.
In the end, the area Marine Corps installations — Cherry Point, Camp Lejeune, Camp Johnson, Camp Geiger and New River — collected nearly 10,000 pounds of food. About half of it was distributed in the Cherry Point area; Sodexho employees loaded the other half into a truck and took it straight to the soup kitchen in Jacksonville.
“Without them, we wouldn’t be able to have this place,” said Remy Stitt, soup kitchen director for Onslow Community Ministries. “This will feed a lot of people.”
The soup kitchen serves about 450 people a day through its dining hall and truck deliveries. The Sodexho food drive brought in all sorts of food — the canned vegetables will go into the soup and round out the hot lunches served at the soup kitchen.
Behind the food drive is Robert Lafond, director of concept development for Sodexho Government Services. He launched the annual campaign shortly after he began working aboard Camp Lejeune as an executive chef, supporting Sodexho’s newly-won Marine Corps contracts.
“I had aspirations to return to North Carolina,” said Lafond. “I felt it would be a good fit for me to support a brand new contract, and a noble cause.”
That cause is the nourishment of thousands of American troops a day. Their favorites? A fried seafood platter and chili macaroni. Lafond and his staff also create ethnic menus, served about once a month, to remind the Marines and sailors of their tours in Asia or Germany.
Lafond and his colleagues are also committed to serving the community’s hungry, too.
“I’m very passionate over initiatives like this,” said Lafond. “It’s our obligation to participate.”
Ellie