Boehringer Ingelheim, Sodexo and Food Rescue US Collaborate to Nourish Fairfield County’s Food Insecure in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis

Ridgefield, CT, April 6, 2020 - More than 50 Sodexo employees who comprise the cafeteria, catering and kitchen staff at Boehringer Ingelheim’s Ridgefield, CT campus are being redeployed to help neighbors in need. In partnership with Food Rescue US and Boehringer Ingelheim, the Sodexo dining team is preparing 250 nourishing meals daily that will be safely delivered to the City of Danbury Emergency Shelter and Housing Authority, Hillside Food Outreach and other social service agencies throughout Fairfield County. Additionally, the dining team will supplement the kitchen staff at Regional Hospice’s Center for Comfort Care and Healing, where new visitation protocols have been implemented to ensure the safety of residents and staff.

In addition to fighting food insecurity, the partnership has enabled Sodexo’s dining staff to continue working during a time when many might have had to consider alternative job solutions, since the majority of Boehringer Ingelheim’s employees are now working remotely and much of the food service has been reduced. 

“Boehringer Ingelheim and Sodexo have been partners for over 30 years, and we view their dedicated team members as if they were family,” said Dr. Wolfgang Baiker, U.S. Country Managing Director and President and CEO, Boehringer Ingelheim USA “We wanted to help with employment continuity during this troubling time. We are proud to be working together with them and Food Rescue US focusing on positive actions that advance the health and well-being of our community.”  

Sodexo staff members safely package and prepare meals based on the needs of the individuals that Food Rescue US serves. Food Rescue US will then pick up the meals each day at Boehringer Ingelheim’s campus and deliver them to the partner organizations.

“The Sodexo team is honored to support the Danbury community during this difficult time,” said Andrea Crosnier, Regional District Manager for Sodexo at Boehringer Ingelheim. “Our partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim is a great example of how we can continue to keep our team employed, while giving back to our community.”

“The partnership between Boehringer Ingelheim, Sodexo and Food Rescue US to address the urgent need to feed the increasing number of food insecure individuals and families during the COVID-19 crisis is an important and creative initiative,” said Carol Shattuck, CEO, Food Rescue US. “I commend Boehringer Ingelheim for opening up their kitchens to meet this important need and Sodexo and their food production team for stepping up to produce healthy meals that Food Rescue US is delivering to agencies that serve people in need. Now more than ever, these partnerships are critical.”

About Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, Conn., is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation.

Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, the company operates globally with approximately 50,000 employees. Since its founding in 1885, the company has remained family-owned, and today our goal is to improve the lives of humans and animals through its three business areas: human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing.

Boehringer Ingelheim concentrates on developing innovative therapies that can improve and extend patients’ lives. As a research-driven pharmaceutical company, it plans in generations for long-term success. Its research efforts are focused on diseases with high, unmet medical need. In animal health, the company stands for advanced prevention.

In 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of around $20.7 billion (17.5 billion euros). R&D expenditure of almost $3.7 billion (3.2 billion euros) corresponded to 18.1 percent of net sales.

Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to improving lives and strengthening our communities. Please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.us/csr to learn more about Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

For more information, please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.us, or follow us on Twitter @BoehringerUS.

About Food Rescue US
Food Rescue US, a national nonprofit organization, is a leader in reducing both hunger and food waste in America by connecting the vast amount of healthy, fresh surplus food with the critical hunger demand. Through the use of its proprietary app, Food Rescue US provides the platform for volunteer food rescuers to directly transfer excess food from businesses to local social service agencies that feed the food insecure. By providing food that would otherwise be wasted and delivering it to the food insecure, Food Rescue US is keeping this wasted food from ending up in landfill where it decomposes, creating methane gas that warms the planet. Since 2011, Food Rescue US has helped launch food recovery communities in 25 locations across the country, providing 37 million meals and keeping 51 million pounds of food out of landfills. For more information or to download the app, visit foodrescue.us, find us on Facebook @FoodRescueUS or follow us on Twitter @foodrescueUS.

About Sodexo North America
Sodexo North America is part of a global, Fortune 500 company with a presence in 67 countries. Sodexo is a leading provider of integrated food, facilities management and other services that enhance organizational performance, contribute to local communities and improve quality of life for millions of customers in corporate, education, healthcare, senior living, sports and leisure, government and other environments daily. The company employs 160,000 people at 13,500 sites in all 50 US states and Canada, and indirectly supports tens of thousands of additional jobs through its annual purchases of $17B in goods and services from small to large businesses. Sodexo is committed to supporting diversity and inclusion and safety, while upholding the highest standards of corporate responsibility and ethical business conduct. In support of local communities across the U.S., in 2019, the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation mobilized 37,000 Sodexo volunteers to distribute 3.2 million meals to help 2.3 million children and adults meet their immediate food needs. Since 1996, the Stop Hunger Foundation has contributed nearly $34.5 million to help feed children in America impacted by hunger. To learn more about Sodexo, visit US.Sodexo.com. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Food Rescue US Media Contact:
Jennifer Guhl 
Marketing & Development Director
800-280-3298, ext. 12
908-872-8677 - cell 
jennifer@foodrescue.us

Sodexo Media Contact:
Dasha Ross-Smith
Public Relations Director
North America Communications
301- 987-4893
202 - 695-0505 – cell
dasha.ross-smith@sodexo.com