Gaithersburg-based food provider Sodexo this week put food on a lot of empty tables.

30,000 tables, to be exact.

The company donated 22,000 lbs--that's more than 10 tons--of potatoes to Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg on Tuesday.

The gift is part of Sodexo's non-profit arm, the Sodexo Foundation's nation-wide Serve-a-Thon program.

President of the Sodexo Foundation Robert Stern, thanked Manna for the good work that they do, and thanked Hirai Farms in Washington State for donating the potatoes.

Holly Hirai, a co-owner of Hirai Farms, was there to accept the thanks.

She said the partnership between Sodexo and Hirai Farms has been beneficial to them both.

Kerwin Higashi, Sodexo's Senior Vice President of Education, helped initiate the program by asking Kirai Farms if they wanted to participate in the program.

Four years ago, the farm began growing a special crop that would be donated to this effort.

Manna serves as Montgomery County's food bank and serves thousands of hundgry families every month.