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Sodexo Contributes $3.22M Through Vermont First

Sodexo reports that it spent $3.22 million with Vermont food purveyors for its Vermont clients. This is the result of the first full year for Vermont First, a program the company launched with the governor and state officials to increase the amount of local food purchased by Sodexo.

“Sodexo is working to drive positive growth in local communities and agricultural enterprises by helping local food producers sell more of their products to us,” said Annie Rowell, Vermont First coordinator for Sodexo. “It means better and fresher food for our clients and promotes agriculture in Vermont. Innovative dining programs that promote sustainability and local sourcing improve the quality of life for our customers—the students, company employees and patients and healthcare workers we serve.”

Through Vermont First, Sodexo is tracking its local purchasing in greater detail than ever before, with the intention of using the data to inform the Vermont and regional supply chain. Specific local food purchasing numbers from the analysis includes purchasing of bulk milk, yogurt, apples, bacon and vegetable proteins.

Sodexo launched Vermont First as a commitment to Gov. Peter Shumlin and state Agriculture Secretary Chuck Ross to increase the amount of local food purchased by large institutions in the state. Sodexo provides dining services for 10 campuses, three corporate accounts and two healthcare accounts in Vermont.

Sodexo recently sponsored the Localvore Cooking Challenge to promote Vermont First. Sodexo chefs from eight Vermont colleges faced off at St. Michael’s College to create dishes using foods native to Vermont. Other ways Sodexo is promoting Vermont First is by hiring Rowell as the local food coordinator, hosting a Vermont Stakeholder Forum at Castleton University and a series of meetings with producers on how to sell their products to Sodexo.

Sodexo recently expanded the Vermont First concept to Maine, offering the Maine Course program, which includes partnering with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to purchase 100 percent responsibly harvested whitefish from the Gulf of Maine by 2020. Sodexo says it made great strides in the first six months of the program, with several locations already meeting the 100 percent purchasing goal.

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