{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"160814","rtpr_id":"nGNX1w7Vhv-20261005","ticker":"SYY","exchange":"NYSE","all_tickers":["SYY"],"title":"Sysco Honored with Southern Smoke Foundation Hall of Flame Award","author":"Globe Newswire","published_at":"2026-10-05T15:11:23.090Z","article_body":"HOUSTON, Oct. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sysco Corporation, the global\nleader in foodservice distribution, is honored to announce it has been named a\n2026 recipient of the Southern Smoke Foundation Hall of Flame Award,\nrecognizing the company’s longstanding support of food and beverage industry\nworkers through financial contributions and product donations.\n\nSouthern Smoke Foundation works to create a healthier and more sustainable\nfood and beverage industry by providing emergency relief funding and access to\nmental health services for industry workers. The award recognizes Sysco’s\nfinancial and product donations that help fund emergency relief and expand\naccess to mental health services for hospitality workers across the food and\nbeverage industry.\n\n“Sysco is honored to receive this recognition from Southern Smoke Foundation\nand proud to stand alongside them as they care for the people who make our\nindustry what it is,” said April Love, Sysco’s vice president, chief\ninclusion & community impact officer. “This partnership is a meaningful\nexpression of our Purpose of Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for\nOne Another, and we’re grateful to support an organization that shows up for\nfood and beverage workers when they need it most.”\n\nSysco was honored Saturday evening at the annual Southern Smoke Festival in\nHouston, where the foundation brings together chefs, restaurants, partners and\nsupporters to raise funds and awareness for their mission.\n\n\"We established the SSF Hall of Flame Award in 2022 to recognize corporate\npartners and individuals who have contributed in a meaningful way to our\norganization,” said Lindsey Brown, executive director and co-founder of the\nJames Beard award-winning Southern Smoke Foundation. “Sysco has been such a\nlarge supporter of SSF for years—both financially and with product\ndonations—that we’re so happy to honor them as one of our Hall of Flame\nrecipients this year.\"\n\nAbout Sysco\n\nSysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food and\nrelated products to customers who prepare meals away from home. This includes\nrestaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments,\nentertainment venues, and more. Sysco operates 333 distribution centers, in 10\ncountries, with 75,000 colleagues serving approximately 670,000 customer\nlocations. The company generated sales of more than $84 billion in fiscal year\n2026 that ended June 27, 2026.\n\nAs the world’s largest food-away-from-home distributor, Sysco offers\ncustomized supply chain solutions, bespoke specialty product offerings, and\nculinary support to drive customers to innovate and optimize their operations.\nWe act as a trusted business partner to our customers, helping them grow\nthrough our industry-leading portfolio that includes fresh produce, premium\nproteins, specialty products, sustainably focused items, equipment and\nsupplies, and innovative culinary solutions.\n\nFor more information, visit www.sysco.com. For important news and key\ninformation for Sysco investors, visit the Investor Relations section of the\ncompany’s website at investors.sysco.com\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=pv01NKmauyEBDjcfjMVjibyT3xfKnHaWS3rjg-oF7UBMtGVOZtoJpjNcW_0oRCTKNiZ_fSQvWz7W9hS1gYrLZMO92hlU8ZvAgR3iOdwthfs=).\n\nFollow us: \nhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/sysco/ \nhttps://www.instagram.com/syscofoodie/ \nhttps://www.facebook.com/SyscoFoods \nhttps://x.com/Sysco\n\nABOUT SOUTHERN SMOKE FOUNDATION\n\nFounded in 2015 by award-winning chef Chris Shepherd and Executive Director\nLindsey Brown, Southern Smoke Foundation provides access to no-cost mental\nhealth services through its program, Behind You, and emergency relief funding\nto food and beverage (F+B) workers nationwide. This includes restaurant, bar,\nand cafe workers; farmers and ranchers; winemakers, distillers, and brewers;\nand anyone in the industry faced with financial hardship because of a medical\nemergency, accident, or other unforeseen incident.\n\nSince 2017, the James Beard Foundation Impact Award-winning organization has\nprovided more than $16.9M in emergency relief funds to F&B workers facing\ncrises, and since 2020, has provided access to more than 12,600 no-cost\ncounseling sessions to F+B workers across 14 states and Washington D.C. To\nsupport Southern Smoke Foundation or to apply for assistance, visit\nsouthernsmoke.org\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=1lsA6yQzpxF0lv3oLUyIE49jMRuyqv7FdVpRJKBfTbv2Or8KKazAxTfqKm9wIQnpivDwyMxTX9lGB0rjEcY7IroaKje0ygmdvd7foI93reM=).\n\nFor more information contact:\n                 \nMedia Contact \nRamit Plushnick-Masti\nRamit.Masti@sysco.com\n713-703-4898\n\nPhotos accompanying this announcement are available at \nhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/50c111ca-e111-460e-ad5f-5b792a7c0aba\nhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b743034b-c4f1-4b1d-8530-8eed6b9a4375\nhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47f17114-e8d7-4332-9d7b-b889cbaec458\nhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a12567ee-d69e-4a34-a8f3-fc0b3a160661\n\nSYY-NEWS\n\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/68d96458-4295-4da9-b3e4-cd5526e10f87)\nSysco Receives Southern Smoke Foundation Hall of Flame Award \n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/50c111ca-e111-460e-ad5f-5b792a7c0aba/en)\nSysco's April Love, vice president, chief inclusion & community impact\nofficer, and Devin Graves, community impact director, receive the Southern\nSmoke Foundation Hall of Flame Award from James Beard award-winning chef Chis\nShepherd. The foundation recognized Sysco's longstanding support of food and\nbeverage industry workers through financial contributions and product\ndonations. Sysco Sponsors Southern Smoke Festival 2026 \n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b743034b-c4f1-4b1d-8530-8eed6b9a4375/en)\nSysco is honored to continue to support hospitality workers as a presenting\nsponsor of Southern Smoke Festival 2026. Festival proceeds go to the Southern\nSmoke Foundation Emergency Relief Fund, which provides assistance to\nhospitality industry workers in crisis.Southern Smoke Festival 2026 \n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47f17114-e8d7-4332-9d7b-b889cbaec458/en)\nSysco is honored to be a vital part of Southern Smoke Festival 2026 in\nHouston. Festival proceeds go to the Southern Smoke Foundation Emergency\nRelief Fund, which provides assistance to hospitality industry workers in\ncrisis.Southern Smoke Festival 2026 \n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a12567ee-d69e-4a34-a8f3-fc0b3a160661/en)\nSysco is honored to be a vital part of Southern Smoke Festival 2026 in\nHouston. Festival proceeds go to the Southern Smoke Foundation Emergency\nRelief Fund, which provides assistance to hospitality industry workers in\ncrisis.\n\n\nGlobeNewswire, Inc. 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nGNX1w7Vhv-20261005","title":"Sysco Honored with Southern Smoke Foundation Hall of Flame Award","author":"Globe Newswire","ticker":"SYY","created":"2026-10-05T15:11:23.090Z","tickers":["SYY"],"exchange":"NYSE","article_body":"HOUSTON, Oct. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sysco Corporation, the global\nleader in foodservice distribution, is honored to announce it has been named a\n2026 recipient of the Southern Smoke Foundation Hall of Flame Award,\nrecognizing the company’s longstanding support of food and beverage industry\nworkers through financial contributions and product donations.\n\nSouthern Smoke Foundation works to create a healthier and more sustainable\nfood and beverage industry by providing emergency relief funding and access to\nmental health services for industry workers. The award recognizes Sysco’s\nfinancial and product donations that help fund emergency relief and expand\naccess to mental health services for hospitality workers across the food and\nbeverage industry.\n\n“Sysco is honored to receive this recognition from Southern Smoke Foundation\nand proud to stand alongside them as they care for the people who make our\nindustry what it is,” said April Love, Sysco’s vice president, chief\ninclusion & community impact officer. “This partnership is a meaningful\nexpression of our Purpose of Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for\nOne Another, and we’re grateful to support an organization that shows up for\nfood and beverage workers when they need it most.”\n\nSysco was honored Saturday evening at the annual Southern Smoke Festival in\nHouston, where the foundation brings together chefs, restaurants, partners and\nsupporters to raise funds and awareness for their mission.\n\n\"We established the SSF Hall of Flame Award in 2022 to recognize corporate\npartners and individuals who have contributed in a meaningful way to our\norganization,” said Lindsey Brown, executive director and co-founder of the\nJames Beard award-winning Southern Smoke Foundation. “Sysco has been such a\nlarge supporter of SSF for years—both financially and with product\ndonations—that we’re so happy to honor them as one of our Hall of Flame\nrecipients this year.\"\n\nAbout Sysco\n\nSysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food and\nrelated products to customers who prepare meals away from home. This includes\nrestaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments,\nentertainment venues, and more. Sysco operates 333 distribution centers, in 10\ncountries, with 75,000 colleagues serving approximately 670,000 customer\nlocations. The company generated sales of more than $84 billion in fiscal year\n2026 that ended June 27, 2026.\n\nAs the world’s largest food-away-from-home distributor, Sysco offers\ncustomized supply chain solutions, bespoke specialty product offerings, and\nculinary support to drive customers to innovate and optimize their operations.\nWe act as a trusted business partner to our customers, helping them grow\nthrough our industry-leading portfolio that includes fresh produce, premium\nproteins, specialty products, sustainably focused items, equipment and\nsupplies, and innovative culinary solutions.\n\nFor more information, visit www.sysco.com. For important news and key\ninformation for Sysco investors, visit the Investor Relations section of the\ncompany’s website at investors.sysco.com\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=pv01NKmauyEBDjcfjMVjibyT3xfKnHaWS3rjg-oF7UBMtGVOZtoJpjNcW_0oRCTKNiZ_fSQvWz7W9hS1gYrLZMO92hlU8ZvAgR3iOdwthfs=).\n\nFollow us: \nhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/sysco/ \nhttps://www.instagram.com/syscofoodie/ \nhttps://www.facebook.com/SyscoFoods \nhttps://x.com/Sysco\n\nABOUT SOUTHERN SMOKE FOUNDATION\n\nFounded in 2015 by award-winning chef Chris Shepherd and Executive Director\nLindsey Brown, Southern Smoke Foundation provides access to no-cost mental\nhealth services through its program, Behind You, and emergency relief funding\nto food and beverage (F+B) workers nationwide. This includes restaurant, bar,\nand cafe workers; farmers and ranchers; winemakers, distillers, and brewers;\nand anyone in the industry faced with financial hardship because of a medical\nemergency, accident, or other unforeseen incident.\n\nSince 2017, the James Beard Foundation Impact Award-winning organization has\nprovided more than $16.9M in emergency relief funds to F&B workers facing\ncrises, and since 2020, has provided access to more than 12,600 no-cost\ncounseling sessions to F+B workers across 14 states and Washington D.C. To\nsupport Southern Smoke Foundation or to apply for assistance, visit\nsouthernsmoke.org\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=1lsA6yQzpxF0lv3oLUyIE49jMRuyqv7FdVpRJKBfTbv2Or8KKazAxTfqKm9wIQnpivDwyMxTX9lGB0rjEcY7IroaKje0ygmdvd7foI93reM=).\n\nFor more information contact:\n                 \nMedia Contact \nRamit Plushnick-Masti\nRamit.Masti@sysco.com\n713-703-4898\n\nPhotos accompanying this announcement are available at \nhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/50c111ca-e111-460e-ad5f-5b792a7c0aba\nhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b743034b-c4f1-4b1d-8530-8eed6b9a4375\nhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47f17114-e8d7-4332-9d7b-b889cbaec458\nhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a12567ee-d69e-4a34-a8f3-fc0b3a160661\n\nSYY-NEWS\n\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/68d96458-4295-4da9-b3e4-cd5526e10f87)\nSysco Receives Southern Smoke Foundation Hall of Flame Award \n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/50c111ca-e111-460e-ad5f-5b792a7c0aba/en)\nSysco's April Love, vice president, chief inclusion & community impact\nofficer, and Devin Graves, community impact director, receive the Southern\nSmoke Foundation Hall of Flame Award from James Beard award-winning chef Chis\nShepherd. The foundation recognized Sysco's longstanding support of food and\nbeverage industry workers through financial contributions and product\ndonations. Sysco Sponsors Southern Smoke Festival 2026 \n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b743034b-c4f1-4b1d-8530-8eed6b9a4375/en)\nSysco is honored to continue to support hospitality workers as a presenting\nsponsor of Southern Smoke Festival 2026. Festival proceeds go to the Southern\nSmoke Foundation Emergency Relief Fund, which provides assistance to\nhospitality industry workers in crisis.Southern Smoke Festival 2026 \n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47f17114-e8d7-4332-9d7b-b889cbaec458/en)\nSysco is honored to be a vital part of Southern Smoke Festival 2026 in\nHouston. Festival proceeds go to the Southern Smoke Foundation Emergency\nRelief Fund, which provides assistance to hospitality industry workers in\ncrisis.Southern Smoke Festival 2026 \n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a12567ee-d69e-4a34-a8f3-fc0b3a160661/en)\nSysco is honored to be a vital part of Southern Smoke Festival 2026 in\nHouston. Festival proceeds go to the Southern Smoke Foundation Emergency\nRelief Fund, which provides assistance to hospitality industry workers in\ncrisis.\n\n\nGlobeNewswire, Inc. 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-10-05T15:11:23.133232682Z","server_sent_at_ms":1791213083133},"received_at":"2026-10-05T15:11:23.185Z","source_url":null},"analysis":{"id":"149368","press_release_id":"160814","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail","sector":"Consumer Staples"},"redFlags":[],"eventType":"other","narrative":"Sysco received the Southern Smoke Foundation 2026 Hall of Flame Award, recognizing its long-standing financial contributions and product donations supporting food and beverage industry workers.\n\nThe foundation provides emergency relief funding and no-cost mental health services to hospitality workers, and has distributed more than $16.9M in relief funds since 2017.\n\nThis is a corporate-philanthropy recognition with no financial or operational impact on Sysco.","sentiment":"neutral","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"Charity award for Sysco's community support — suppress as non-material."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"countries":10,"colleagues":75000,"fy2026_sales":"more than $84 billion","customer_locations":670000,"distribution_centers":333}},"quotedText":"Sysco is honored to receive this recognition from Southern Smoke Foundation and proud to stand alongside them as they care for the people who make our industry what it is","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"April Love","role":"Vice President, Chief Inclusion & Community Impact Officer, Sysco"},{"name":"Lindsey Brown","role":"Executive Director and co-founder, Southern Smoke Foundation"},{"name":"Chris Shepherd","role":"Co-founder, Southern Smoke Foundation; award-winning chef"},{"name":"Devin Graves","role":"Community Impact Director, Sysco"}],"products":["Hall of Flame Award"],"companies":[{"name":"Sysco Corporation","ticker":"SYY","relationship":"filer/award recipient"},{"name":"Southern Smoke Foundation","relationship":"award-granting charity partner"}],"dollarAmounts":[{"amount":"$84 billion","context":"Sysco fiscal year 2026 sales"},{"amount":"$16.9M","context":"emergency relief funds provided by Southern Smoke Foundation since 2017"}]},"materialImpact":{"score":1,"reasoning":"A charitable-recognition award for Sysco's philanthropic support of food and beverage workers. 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