Darden has introduced a new benefit for restaurant team members called Fast Fluency – which offers Spanish-speaking team members the chance to learn English for free.

For many restaurant team members, English may not be their first language. By spending just a few minutes a day with Fast Fluency on a mobile app, their computer or their phone, team members will be able to speak and write in a new language in months. Upon sign up, they'll even be paired with a language coach to check in and assist them along the way.

“The ability to learn English has had a big impact in my life, “ says Darden President and CEO Rick Cardenas. “My parents fled Cuba and came to the United States, where I was born. I didn’t learn English until kindergarten and taught my mom along the way by answering her in English. As a result, both of us were able to overcome language barriers.”

Fast Fluency is another example of how Darden invests in our team members’ success by offering new ways to help them learn and grow.

Culinary Professional Luis Arias from Yard House in Naples, Florida was one of the first to pilot Fast Fluency last year. With the goal of becoming a sous chef, Luis has used Fast Fluency to sharpen his English and logged 117 hours so far.

Learn more about Luis’s Fast Fluency experience by watching the video below.

LongHorn Steakhouse and Darden are proud to announce Leslie Godfrey, Director of Operations, has been named as a Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) 2023 Change Marker.

This week, leaders across the food industry came together during WFF’s Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas to honor this year’s Change Makers — a group of outstanding leaders recognized as rising stars within their organizations. Winners are selected for modeling inclusive leadership that supports gender equity within their company’s culture.

“Leslie is the definition of a Change Maker,” said Todd Burrowes, President of LongHorn Steakhouse. “She inspires her team members, elevates their successes and leads with passion. This award is a testament to Leslie’s unwavering dedication to LongHorn’s success through incredible leadership.”

Leslie began her career with LongHorn as a server in Woodstock, GA in 1999. She was promoted to the role of Director of Operations in 2021, where she currently leads a division of 10 restaurants in the surrounding Nashville, TN area. She progressed to this position after becoming a Managing Partner in 2011 and leading several successful restaurant locations, including Ellijay, GA and Canton, GA.

“It’s an honor to be named a Change Maker by WFF. I’ve always had the support of amazing leaders at LongHorn throughout my career and now, I want to be that leader for the next generation,” says Leslie.

Darden Restaurants recently introduced a new scholarship program called the Next Course Scholarship to support team members’ families by helping their children achieve their educational goals. Funded by the Darden Foundation, 97 scholarships worth $3,000 each were awarded to the team members representing more than 80 restaurants across seven of Darden’s brands in 32 states.

Among those high-achieving recipients are Eros Lopez, and Ashton and Cameron Lebed. Eros’ father, Fernando, and Ashton and Cameron’s father, Scott, have been with Darden for more than 20 years.

Eros is a senior at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, California, and an Olive Garden team member. Eros joined Olive Garden in Burbank as a Busser last year to help save money for college, and now works alongside his father, Fernando, whose Olive Garden career spans 20-plus years. Fernando started as a Host, working his way up to Server and is now a To-Go Specialist.

When Eros expressed his desire to save up for college, Fernando began researching scholarship opportunities. Not too long after, the Next Course Scholarship was announced to team members.

“The Next Course Scholarship announcement was absolute perfect timing,” Fernando says. “Eros has been saving up for a while and this is just the support he needs as he approaches his freshman year.”

Eros plans to attend East Los Angeles College this summer to begin his degree in health care with a minor in his passion — music.

Scott began his career with Olive Garden 24 years ago and now serves as the General Manager in Queensbury. His sons, Ashton and Cameron, are both recipients of the Next Course Scholarship.

With both sons in college, and his daughter Madeline quickly approaching, Scott says having support to ease the burden of educational expenses is invaluable.

“I am grateful for the financial relief Next Course Scholarship has provided my family,” Scott says. “This opportunity is helping alleviate the financial stress, and allowing my sons to focus on achieving their goals.”

During high school, Ashton and Cameron were actively involved in student council, varsity sports, the National Society of High School Scholars and Best Buddies International. They excelled academically, graduating at the top of their classes. Their dedication and accomplishments have continued through college.

Ashton currently studies sports management at the University of South Carolina and is looking forward to pursuing a master’s in business administration in the future. Cameron studies biomedical engineering at University of Massachusetts Amherst and is on track to graduate as an Army Officer. 

Programs like Next Course Scholarship allows Darden to extend its investments beyond their people and create a lasting impact on the lives of team members’ families.

Darden Restaurants is helping Feeding America® once again provide 10 member food banks with a 26-foot refrigerated truck, which can transport up to 12,000 pounds of food at a time to fight hunger in their community. Made possible through a $2 million grant from the Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation and support from partners Penske Truck Leasing and the Lineage Foundation, these trucks will become part of mobile food pantry programs at food banks with the greatest need.

Food banks receiving a truck this year include:

• Community FoodBank of New Jersey (Hillside, N.J.)
• Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.)
• El Pasoans Fighting Hunger (El Paso, Texas)
• Feeding South Florida (Pembroke Park, Fla.)
• Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
• Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Inc. (Indianapolis, Ind.)
• Houston Food Bank (Houston, Texas)
• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
• Second Harvest of South Georgia, Inc. (Valdosta, Ga.)

“All of us at Darden have a shared purpose to nourish and delight everyone we serve, and our commitment to service extends beyond our restaurants into our communities,” said Rick Cardenas, President and CEO of Darden Restaurants. “As a restaurant company, we are able to make a meaningful difference in the fight against hunger. Through our long-standing partnership with Feeding America and our legacy Harvest food donation program, we can help individuals and families gain access to nutritious food.”

The Need

Across the nation, food banks are experiencing increased demand driven by grocery prices that remain high and the end of several pandemic-era benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency allotments. Feeding America estimates that more than 34 million people in the United States face hunger, and communities of color continue to be impacted at a disproportionately higher rate.

“In the face of persistently high grocery prices and the expiration of vital pandemic-era support, food banks are a lifeline for millions,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “We’re grateful to team up with Darden, Penske, and Lineage again to continue our work to close the hunger gap, and these trucks will expand our food banks’ ability to deliver food where it’s needed most.”

Responding to the Need

Darden and the Darden Foundation have partnered with Feeding America for 13 years to address food insecurity. Since January 2021, Darden and its partners have helped add 35 trucks, along with money for operating expenses, for 35 food banks located in 18 different states.

In addition, Darden’s restaurants have participated in the Harvest food donation program for 20 years. Each week, team members prepare unserved, nutritious food like pasta, steak, chicken, vegetables and soup for donation to a local nonprofit – rather than disposing of it. Over two decades, the scale of Darden’s 1,900-plus locations have provided more than 136 million pounds of food for those who need it, amounting to 113 million meals.