Sysco LABS Brings Purpose to Life Through Community Impact

Colleagues across Sri Lanka unite to nourish communities, empower youth leaders, and inspire the next generation of technologists

Sysco LABS Sri Lanka Celebrated Sysco’s Purpose Month 2025 with a series of initiatives that brought its purpose, “Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for One Another” to life across communities, universities and classrooms. From November to December, colleagues from across the organization came together to demonstrate how purpose-led action can create both immediate impact and long-term lasting changes.

At the heart of the Purpose Month was a focus on care- beginning with nourishment and extending through empowerment and education. This commitment was reflected in “Share a Meal, Shara a Moment” – Phase 18, held on the 27th of November in celebration of Thanksgiving Day.  As the flagship sustainability initiative of the organization, this phase saw Sysco LABS distributing 300 hampers to families in need. Since its inception, “Share a Meal, Share a Moment” has provided relief to over 54,000 lives reflecting the organization’s sustained commitment to addressing food insecurity in the nation.

Building on the foundation of caring for one another, Sysco LABS colleagues turned their attention to nurturing future leaders with the launch of Project GLO-Phase 2. Guiding Leadership and Outreach (GLO) is a youth leadership initiative conducted by Sysco LABS in partnership with AHRP, AIESEC, and Global Learning Lab, and as part of this initiative, 25 LABSters were certified as facilitators to deliver youth leadership programs across three universities- University of Moratuwa, SLIIT, and the University of Colombo School of Computing. By equipping students with leadership capabilities aligned to sustainable development, Project GLO reflects Sysco LABS’ belief that lasting impact is created when communities are empowered to lead their own change.

The focus on long-term change continued through the Sysco LABS Academy, with its second session being conducted for students from Musaeus College, Colombo. As part of the program, expert LABSters worked closely with 30 Advanced Level IT Students, leading hands-on workshops and mentoring sessions that explored technology career pathways and the skills needed to turn curiosity into meaningful careers.

Concluding the Purpose Month lineup was the Soup Kitchen – Second Serving Initiative, where Sysco LABS volunteers gathered at the Christian Reformed Church in Dehiwala to prepare and serve meals for 150 children. The program was further enriched by a performance from the Sysco LABS Choir, bringing connection into the heart of the community.

Commenting on these initiatives, Thushera Kawdawatta, Managing Director of Sysco LABS Sri Lanka said, 

“At Sysco LABS, we are harnessing the power of advanced technology to define the future of the industry, but our scope extends far beyond code. We believe that true innovation is measured not just by technical advancement, but by human impact, and that digital transformation must be driven by purpose. These initiatives highlight how our team leverages their expertise and empathy to drive meaningful change, reminding us that while we build the future with cutting-edge technology, we anchor it in the well-being of our communities. It proves that the most advanced technology is always built by people who care deeply about the world around them.”

01 Image - Sysco LABS Colleagues who volunteered for the Soup Kitchen – Second Serving Initiative

02 Image - Sysco LABS Colleagues who participated in ‘Share a Meal, Share a Moment’ Phase 18 

03 Image - The second group of GLO trainers with students from one of their ‘Leadership Academy’ sessions 

04 Image - A Sysco LABS expert shares insight into new roles within the tech industry as a part of Sysco LABS Academy

About Sysco LABS: 

Sysco LABS is the Global In-House Center of Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY), the world’s largest foodservice company. Sysco ranks 56th in the Fortune 500 list and is the global leader in the trillion-dollar foodservice industry. 

Sysco employs over 75,000 associates, has 337 smart distribution facilities worldwide and over 14,000 IoT-enabled trucks serving 730,000 customer locations. For fiscal year 2025 that ended June 29, 2025, the company generated sales of more than $81.4 billion.  

Sysco LABS Sri Lanka delivers the technology that powers Sysco’s end-to-end operations.    

Sysco LABS’ enterprise technology is present in the end-to-end foodservice journey, enabling the sourcing of food products, merchandising, storage and warehouse operations, order placement and pricing algorithms, the delivery of food and supplies to Sysco’s global network and the in-restaurant dining experience of the end-customer.