Sodexho is providing more than just food services for students. The company’s charity, the Sodexho Foundation, is now offering scholarships to those students who volunteer for organizations dedicated to stopping hunger.

“The scholarship is for students who have established credibility with different organizations, and who has been up-front as a leader to work against hunger and poverty,” said Munawar Ahmed, general manager of Sodexho Campus Services. “It’s developing leaders, leaders who make a difference in people’s lives.”

The STOP Hunger Award offers a $3,000 scholarship towards school for the students who meet criteria, and a $3,000 grant to go to a hunger-stopping charity of the student’s choice. Scholarship Coordinator Linda Steele said that while the scholarship is outside the University, it shouldn’t stop students from applying.

“I think students should apply for anything they can get of course,” she said. “If they find an outside scholarship they might be eligible for, and it doesn’t cost anything to apply, by all means go ahead and apply.”

The Sodexho Foundation began its hunger relief program, STOP Hunger, in 1999 and has been involved with the Campus Kitchens Project.

“The leftovers we don’t use, we prepare nicely and take it to people who need it,” said Ahmed. “We take it to a shelter. There are quite a few colleges who are part of the campus kitchen program. It would be a great joy to me if this university could be part of that group, and if I had some volunteers to work with me to make this, to make a difference.”

There are a number of stipulations for a student to be required eligible for the STOP Hunger Award. A student must be involved with an organization that is helping to stop hunger, and must be nominated by a non-family member over the age of 21. Most importantly, the nominations must be turned in before April 30. The rest of the stipulations can be found on the Sodexho Foundations Web site, www.helpstophunger.org.