Five Star Food Service employees display $30,000 check given to the Chattanooga Food Bank from the new Feeding the FutureA Chattanooga-based vending machine and cafeteria company that feeds thousands of area workers has created a charity to also help feed children in need.
Five Star Food Service, a franchise of Canteen Service that sells food and beverages and provides catering services at businesses, schools and hospitals in East Tennessee, Northwest Georgia, Northeast Alabama and parts of Kentucky, announced Wednesday that it has created a non-profit organization to help food banks and school pack programs in its service territory.
The new charity, known as Feeding the Future, Inc., made an initial $30,000 donation – and pledged another $10,000 – to the Chattanooga Food Bank from proceeds of a September charitable golf tournament sponsored by Five Star Services.
C.J. Recher, director of marketing for Five Star Food Services, said the company has agreed to provide its own contributions and raise donations from others to help address childhood hunger in the region.
“In April, a seed was planted inside Five Star Food Service for a need so large and so widespread it immediately started to grow,” Recher said. “In a matter of weeks, the seed, ending childhood hunger, blossomed into a passion now deeply rooted in the fabric of the organization.”
Even in the richest nation on the planet, nearly 20 percent of all children don’t get enough to eat – or the proper food for childhood development.
“Children who don’t get enough to eat, especially during the first three years, begin life at a serious disadvantage,” Recher said. “The lack of food, specifically “healthy” food, raises the likelihood of chronic illnesses and entering school with developmental impairments and behavioral issues.”
Recher said Feeding the Future plans to support food banks across its service territory and also help programs such as ‘Backpack Buddies’ which provide children who receive free or reduced lunch at school weekend food supplies. Each bag is packed by local food banks or partner organizations and contains six (6) easy-to-make nutritious meals to last each child from Friday afternoon through Monday morning.
Nationally, only 2 percent, or 450,000, of the children who are eligible for this program are currently covered. On average, each bag of food costs $3 for the local food bank.
In addition to its golf tournaments, Feeding the Future expects to raise funds via Five Star profit sharing, additional events, micro market and vending promotions, point-of-sale donations, employee payroll, and online donations.
Feeding the Future has launched an official website at www.feedingthefuture.org as well as on social media on Facebook: @feedingthefutureinc, Twitter: @EndKidsHunger, Instagram: @feedingthefutureinc, and LinkedIn: Feeding The Future, Inc.
Founded in 1993, Five Star Food Service has grown to one of the largest privately held food vendors of its kind in the United States with 816 micro-markets, in addition to full-service vending, coffee services, full-service dining, and catering outlets in four states. The Chattanooga-based company operates a food preparation facility in Lafayette, Ga., and 14 distribution centers. Five Star Food Services is owned by the private equity firm PNC Riverarch Capital and has more than 1,000 employees.
Contact Dave Flessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.