Sodexo pledges to involve 9,000 managed sites in EPA’s food recovery plan

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Sodexo said it will support the Environmental Protection Agency’s food recovery program by sharing its waste reduction strategy, resources and expertise across the 9,000 sites it serves in North America by 2020.

“Wasted food is a big challenge in the U.S., with 30 to 40 percent of food commonly wasted,” said Kristi Theisen, senior manager, sustainability & wellness, Sodexo Education- Campus. “It’s important to realize that the impact of wasting food goes far beyond simply tossing leftovers in the trash.”

The contract manager is participating in the Food Recovery Challenge, a part of the EPA's Sustainable Materials Management Program. Challenge participants strive to help communities and protect the environment by purchasing less, donating extra food and composting.

“Think about all the time, energy and resources used to produce the food,” said Theisen. “Then consider the transportation needed to get it to people and the resources used to prepare the meal. Finally, think about the fact that eventually over a third of the food ends up in the landfill! Of course, there are also the disposal costs and methane gases from landfills after that. It’s an incredibly destructive cycle, but it’s something we have the power and resources to change.”

At Northern Arizona University, for example, Sodexo has participated in EPA's Food Recovery Challenge since 2012. There it focuses on finding ways to reuse leftovers in recipes or donate it to food banks, preventing wasted food from ever being created, and recycling the remainder to keep it out of the landfill.

Theisen noted that prior to signing on to the EPA Food Recovery Challenge at NAU in 2012, the food waste discussion on campus was an internal one. Because of the Food Recovery Challenge, she said, the conversation expanded to the entire campus and the greater Flagstaff community.

“We have such a unique opportunity to impact the quality of life for the students, campuses, organizations and communities we serve and the fact that we provide services to nearly 9,000 partner sites across North America means that our efforts are multiplied and make a measurable difference,” she said. “As someone who works directly with our Campus sites, I am constantly energized by the passion today’s higher education students have for anything related to sustainability. It certainly validates that we are doing the right thing with efforts like our waste reduction strategy.”