HOUSTON, Feb. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) today kicks-off its third annual employee volunteer initiative, Sysco Gives Back Weeks, as part of the Company’s charitable giving strategic focus to provide healthy and nutritious meals to children, families and seniors in underserved communities.

This two-week effort supports the Company’s core community partners who are focused on hunger relief, and provides Houston-based employees with an array of opportunities to volunteer during regular work hours, including onsite events at both Corporate campuses and Sysco Houston, the Company’s local operating company. The Company will also host Saturday events to allow employees to volunteer as a family.

“Food is our business and our passion, and it represents our best opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the communities where we operate and live,” said Catherine Kayser, Sysco’s vice president of corporate social responsibility. “There are hungry people who suffer from a lack of access to food in every community and as the global leader in food distribution, we have a unique capacity to be part of the solution. We are committed to direct 75 percent of community donations and volunteerism activities toward hunger relief initiatives and Sysco Gives Back Weeks is an important way for us to accomplish that goal.”

Sysco’s Houston-based employees will donate their time and efforts over the coming two-week campaign in support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, Bayou City Blessings in a Backpack, Catholic Charities Pan de Vida Food Pantry, Dream Dinners Foundation, Houston Food Bank’s main campus and mobile pantries in Katy and Spring Branch, Kids’ Meals, Meals on Wheels, Target Hunger and Urban Harvest.

With the combined effort over the two-week period, Sysco hopes to provide hundreds of thousands of meals in support of those in need across the Houston area.

About Sysco

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 67,000 associates, the company operates approximately 330 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than 600,000 customer locations. For fiscal 2018 that ended June 30, 2018, the company generated sales of more than $58 billion.

For more information, visit www.sysco.com  or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoCorporation  or Twitter at https://twitter.com/Sysco . For important news and information regarding Sysco, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s Internet home page at investors.sysco.com , which Sysco plans to use as a primary channel for publishing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. Investors should also follow us at www.twitter.com/SyscoStock  and download the Sysco IR App, available on the iTunes App Store  and the Google Play Market . In addition, investors should continue to review our news releases and filings with the SEC. It is possible that the information we disclose through any of these channels of distribution could be deemed to be material information. Investor and Media contact:                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Camilla Zuckero                                                                                                                Senior Director, Investor Relations and External Communications        zuckero.camilla@corp.sysco.com                                                 T 281-899-1839

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