May 12, 2026

East Mississippi Community College’s food service provider, Sodexo, randomly selected 10 students from 600 colleges and universities nationwide to each receive a $575 Visa gift card and a $1,250 donation on the student’s behalf to food-related charity of his or her choice. EMCC freshman Matthew Wolvers, a Meridian resident who attends school on EMCC’s Scooba campus, was among the 10 winners selected out of 7,184 entries.

“I received an email from Sodexo that I had won, and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’” Wolvers said. “That was surprising.”

Wolvers, a member of EMCC’s men’s soccer team, selected LOVE’s Kitchen in Meridian to receive the $1,250 donation from Sodexo in his name. On April 29, Sodexo Area Marketing Manager Elizabeth Brunet presented LOVE’s Kitchen Executive Director Fannie Johnson with a ceremonial check for the $1,250 in the dining room on EMCC’s Scooba campus. Wolvers was present as well.

LOVE’s Kitchen, which has operated in Meridian since the 1980s, provides a free full-course lunch for the food insecure five days a week. The organization works with other nonprofits to assist with things like GED tutoring, resume building, job searches, and providing transportation for doctors’ visits and other necessities.

“We have homeless clients, the working poor, elderly people, transient, and then people who just run into emergencies,” Johnson said. “Meridian has been blessed. It’s not just us. There are a lot of agencies working together and we help each other out.”

Johnson said the need is great. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security reported a 26.3 poverty rate in Lauderdale County for 2024, which is the latest year for which figures are available.

“Donations are very important,” Johnson said. “Especially given that we don’t always know what to expect. Today, I fed 75 people and tomorrow I might have 120. I am very grateful to Sodexo and to Matthew. It is extra special when young people like Matthew get involved because some of our donors are getting to a point where they can no longer donate because they are living off a retirement check.”

Wolvers said he chose LOVE’s (Lauderdale Outreach and Volunteer Effort) Kitchen because he is familiar with their work. He has volunteered to serve meals at the nonprofit through the church that he and his family attend.

“The gift card I received is really nice, but the donation to LOVE’s Kitchen is even better because it is going to help someone else,” Wolvers said. “It is going to a better cause.”

The giveaway was part of Sodexo’s “Slay the Day Sweepstakes” that took place at colleges and universities across the U.S. where the company manages food services. The annual sweepstakes take place in conjunction with Sodexo events to promote menu items. This year’s themes were “Slow Your Roll” and “All That Jazz” that featured soul food served to the sounds of the jazz era, among other things.

Brunet said the annual event is a way for Sodexo to give back to the community.

“This is one of our initiatives to battle food insecurity in a more local way,” Brunet said.

The $575 Visa card giveaway was billed as a way to “plan the daytrip of your dreams.” Wolvers did just that.

“Me and my buddies have never been to Mississippi State University baseball games, so we went up there these past two weekends to watch them play,” Wolvers said. “It was a really cool experience.”

Sodexo, a global company, provides food services to companies, hospitals, schools, universities and a wide range of other organizations. In 1995, Sodexo became the world’s biggest food company after acquiring Gardner Merchant and Partena, according to the company’s website. Sodexo offers a full range of dining services on EMCC’s Scooba and Golden Triangle campuses.

“Sodexo has consistently gone above and beyond in supporting the faculty, staff, and students of EMCC,” EMCC Associate Dean of Students LaPari Morant said. “This initiative is another powerful example that their impact reaches far beyond dining services. They are truly a vital and valued part of the wider EMCC community.”