West Virginia University cooks up 150 gallons of soup for Stop Hunger initiative

On the morning of May 23, the foodservice team at West Virginia University in Morgantown cooked up 150 gallons of chicken noodle soup to be delivered to four local organizations.

This event, known as “The Big Soup,” has been held by Sodexo Live! teams working in stadiums, convention centers, entertainment venues and other operations for a couple of years, but this was the first one organized on a college campus. The Sodexo dining services and sports and leisure management teams joined forces with Nestle chef Christopher Britton to make it happen.

Chicken, vegetables, pasta, herbs and broth went into the giant soup pots. Once the ingredients simmered for several hours and cooled, the soup was shared with the community at Salvation Army’s Hope Cafe, Bartlett Housing Solutions, Ronald McDonald House Morgantown and Morgantown Community Kitchen.

“To see our team come out for such a great cause, doing their part to stop hunger in our communities was a great experience,” said Tiffany Peden, Sodexo regional communications manager. 

While The Big Soup was WVU’s largest initiative for Sodexo's Stop Hunger Foundation, the foodservice teams took part in other programs as part of the company's annual Servathon campaign, which takes place every April and May. Throughout the two months, employees volunteer at different organizations to help eliminate food insecurity and fight hunger locally through events, activities and fundraising.