Our Initiatives
Your Sodexo Campus Dining Team is dedicated to sustainability. We know we can all work together to make a positive impact right here at Samford University. In addition to the many initiatives we take on as a company, we have implemented the following programs specific to Samford University
Our partner, The Common Market, knows growers personally, understands their farming practices and have on-the-ground experience at their farms. We are working to build a sustainable regional food system by sourcing from producers who use responsible farming methods and business practices.
All of our vendors must meet the following criteria:
- responsible land stewardship
- ensuring safe & fair conditions for farm workers
- providing safe growing, harvesting & processing practices
- reducing or eliminating pesticides
- eliminating hormones & sub-therapeutic antibiotics in livestock
- providing healthy & humane care for livestock
- located within 250 miles of our Atlanta warehouse
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Often, the food we eat travels hundreds or thousands of miles from farms, to distributors, and then to supermarkets for purchasing. The Common Market creates a sustainable system for the planet and our farmers by pledging to only source food locally, all from within 250 miles of our Atlanta warehouse.
Join our Choose to Reuse program at the Caf in four easy steps:
- Visit the Caf and join the program for a one-time, non-refundable fee of $10.00
- Fill up your to go box with delicious food and take it with you on-the-go.
- When finished, return your box to the cashier at the Caf to have it cleaned and pick up a new one.
- Repeat as you choose.
The Common Market is a nonprofit regional food distributor with a mission to connect communities with good food from sustainable family farms. We strive to improve food security, farm viability, and community and ecological health.
Currently operating in the Mid-Atlantic, Georgia, and Texas, The Common Market is expanding to other U.S. regions to build a nation of vibrant regional food systems. Choose a location to become a customer, producer or to learn more about our local initiatives.
Compostable Packaging is currently being used in uur Simply To Go, Pho, and Freshens locations.
As part of its commitment to increase the sustainability of its operations, Dining Services uses Ecolab’s Apex™ dishwashing system. Apex combines technology and products designed to save water and energy, minimize the impact of products on the environment, and has a built-in method of measuring results. Apex uses a unique combination of detergents, rinse additives, equipment and consultative services to address the operational challenges in food-service operations. The Apex management approach uses a tablet PC and wireless technology to communicate with the system's controller to download, process and analyze data to establish each food-service operation's "rack-to-guest ratio." By monitoring and improving this ratio, the system helps reduce the amount of water and energy used at each facility, and improve total operational efficiency. All locations will benefit from using less water, energy and labor, thus minimizing their operations' overall environmental impact. In addition, the Apex system further supports Dining Services' sustainability initiatives with non-caustic chemistry and 95% less packaging material than current methods. Apex products come in a compact solid form that significantly reduces transportation shipments compared to bulkier liquid detergents.
It is our goal to reduces the usage of single-use plastics in order to reduce our trash. Many of the common disposables such as plastic have become "upon request" to help eliminate as many disposable paper and plastic products as possible.
With time, all equipment reaches its lifespan and must be replaced. Samford University and Sodexo both swap out broken equipment with energy efficient equipment which can cut down on energy and water waste.
Since 1996, Filta has been providing cooking oil micro filtration service around the world to restaurants and other food establishments. Filta’s “Green” services naturally preserve the environment by extending the life of cooking oil with the FiltaFry service, turning waste cooking oil into biodiesel with FiltaBio and reducing energy consumption and food waste with FiltaCool. Filta services over 7,000 customers every week and has recycled over 1/2 billion pounds of oil… and counting.
Check out our spring 2019 environmental impact report here!
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Since 1996, Sodexo employees have been impacting hunger issues year-round by donating their time, resources and expertise, holding fundraisers and mobilizing others to get involved.
Globally, Stop Hunger is a leading force in the fight against hunger that is present in 48 countries with the goal of being in all 80 countries where Sodexo does business. At Samford University,
Sodexo participates in two Stop Hunger initiatives during the academic year. Each October and April, Samford University Dining asks Faculty, Staff, and Students to donate canned foods to the
local food bank in Chelsea, AL.
Samford University Dining is currently looking for sustainability interns for the Fall 2020 semester which will help with different initiatives throughout the semester.
On the first Wednesday of each month, Samford University Dining has volunteers who wake up at 3 a.m. and arrive on campus to prepare breakfast for over 150 homeless men living at the
Jimmie Hale Mission in downtown Birmingham, AL. In 2019 Samford University Dining won the Heroes of Everyday Life award and granted $1,000 to the Jimmie Hale mission.
We work closely with local produce distributors to maximize the fruits and vegetables purchased from local farms. We also purchase from local dairies, and participate in farm to school initiatives. Tracking local purchases helps us to meet our Better Tomorrow Plan commitment of 20% local purchase by 2020.
Many of our marketing pieces which are placed outside are reused from pieces with new clings placed over the top to cut down on the amount of waste produced in the print shop.
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The Caf has partnered with Royal Cup and Never Thirst to provide great quality coffee to all of our guests while also giving back to those in need and providing clean water to underprivileged areas. Each time the Caf purchases a pound of coffee from Royal Cup 5% of the total cost goes towards Never Thirst. Click here to see how we're helping solve the water crisis one cup of coffee at a time!
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Sodexo North America will eliminate single use plastic bags and stirrers by 2019, polystyrene foam items such as cups, lids and food containers by 2025, and shift straws to a “by request” item that will still be available to customers who need them while moving toward more sustainable materials. The following materials have been developed to support your communications with employees, clients and customers:
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58 Billion paper cups are thrown away each year; most of which are non-compostable. By using recycled cups in our Retail locations and china in The Caf we're decreasing our waste and minimizing our carbon footprint.
Regional food systems help sustain our local family farms, provide healthy, fresh options for our communities and stimulate local economies. Food grown, harvested and distributed by local farmers ultimately tastes fresher, can be harvested closer to its peak ripeness, and travels far less than food coming from other parts of the country, or even internationally. Additionally, dollars spent on food is making its way back to the farmer who grows it. And the economic impact extends to others supporting the farmer, including suppliers of seeds and farm tools, distributors (like us at The Common Market), processors, and so many others along the way.
To meet our commitment, Sodexo developed and launched its Sustainable Seafood Policy in 2011. The policy seeks to keep fish in the sea as well as seafood on its menus and catalogs, preserving jobs, satisfying customers, providing nutritional well-being and offering environmental benefits. The sustainable seafood policy seeks to ensure that throughout Sodexo's supply chain, the right processes are in place to guarantee ample fish stocks for the future.
As the leader in Quality of Life services, Sodexo believes all children deserve access to sufficient healthy food every day so they can learn, play and thrive.
That’s why, in 1996, we created our Stop Hunger initiative and, in 1999, launched the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, a not-for-profit organization. Our mission is to ensure every child in the United States grows up with dependable access to enough nutritious food to enable them to lead a healthy, productive life – because no child should be hungry today or risk being hungry tomorrow.
We do this by mobilizing volunteers – including Sodexo employees, clients, customers and youth – to contribute to hunger-free communities across the United States.
With one in six children in the United States still hungry, we won’t rest on the good we’ve done. Instead, building on lessons learned over more than 20 years, we’ll work smarter – and harder – to end childhood hunger.
By the end of 2020, we will:
Contribute to 3 million children in the United States having access to adequate, healthy food every day
Contribute to protecting the social safety net that helps children and families move out of and avoid poverty and hunger
Solidify our leadership in identifying, investing in and scaling innovative, youth-designed and -led solutions to childhood hunger
To accomplish our goals, we will use three cross-cutting strategies:
Invest in capacity building
Identify, document and scale youth-led solutions
Leverage the full asset of Sodexo
Visit HelpStopHunger.org to learn more about Stop Hunger and join the fight to end childhood hunger.
Sustainable farming benefits the environment as it maintains soil quality, reduces soil degradation and erosion, and saves water. It’s within our values to work toward a healthier planet, where greenhouse gas emissions decrease, biodiversity increases and natural resources are preserved.
We source from farmers who practice sustainable farming, meaning they are committed to sustainability in their responsible land stewardship and fair business practices. Beyond running a profitable operation, sustainable farmers use methods that don’t harm the land, air and water and they provide quality of life for their farm workers and their communities.
We are a trayless campus. Customers without trays typically waste less food and beverages. It is also a healthier approach to eating, as we all know that at times our eyes are bigger than our stomach. Trayless dining also reduces the amount of water and detergents needed to wash trays - and saves energy too.
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Xprss Napkin dispensers save up to 25% of consumption and waste, the napkins are made from 100% recycled paper and the dispensers will encourage customers to take (and waste) less napkins. Energy is saved because less power is used to recycle paper products then to create them from virgin material.
Details coming soon...
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