Last Wednesday, the last vendor, Sodexo, gave their presentation. They highlighted interesting information about the company, using the refrain "You think you know us, but did you know that..."
They mentioned being the leader in their industry in sustainability, that their biggest 'umbrella charity' is fighting hunger, and that their a global company providing food for schools, hospitals and prisons all over the world.
Our Dining Director/Manager, Susas Matheson, spoke for most of the presentation. She talked about several initiatives they are working to implement in the caf. Lean Path is a tool they will use to weigh the leftover food, calculate waste, and use the results to decrease total food waste. My Fitness Pal is an app that will allow you to pull up the nutrition information of certain recipes used in the caf, on your phone while you're actually eating. They want to launch a to-go container program so students can take food out of the caf.
They claimed that 34% of the food in our caf is local. Hah. Their definition of local is produced within 150 miles. Key word: produced. They count Kellogs, Smuckers, Big Apple Bagels, Welches and many other large companies' products as 'local' because they have production facilities within 150 miles, even though it's possible that none of the ingredients for these products were actually grown in Michigan.
Susan talked about year-round employment being an issue for caf workers, since they can no longer receive unemployment over our breaks because of recently passed state legislation. She has made it possible for her workers to work year round - a feat she is very proud of.
She emphasized the use of comment cards to provide feedback. She reads, responds and re-posts each card, and values this immediate form of feedback. "I'm not going to pretend to be able to do everything, but I am listening to you guys," she said in closing.
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