By Gabrielle Liu – Junior Copy Editor

Did you know there are a variety of environmental initiatives behind Sodexo’s restaurants on campus? Too Good to Go is a mobile app where consumers can claim ‘surprise bags’ of unsold food at the end of the day for a reduced cost. “We try using our data to produce the amount that we need to feed people,” said Jonathan Strout, the health and safety manager of Sodexo’s campus operations. But on a slower business day, restaurants like the Purple Pod can upload how many surprise bags are up for sale, their guaranteed dollar value, and what time customers can come to pick them up. According to Strout, the Purple Pod recently finished their pilot phase with Too Good to Go and is rebranding for re-launch soon. 

The Leanpath platform is the flagship food waste initiative at Dewhurst’s Dining Hall. With this program, Sodexo employees can track every type of food waste produced in their kitchen and dining hall, from pre-consumer to post-consumer waste. Strout traces Leanpath’s introduction to Bishop’s in 2019, first as a pilot program. Strout highlights that Bishop’s is the first university with Sodexo Canada to implement Leanpath. Every employee can use a tablet and food scale to weigh, log, and collect data on the kinds of waste produced, including its monetary value and energy cost. 

Sodexo currently has a hydroponic unit from the company ZipGrow. Sodexo installed the unit prior to the pandemic, envisioning that hydroponic-grown herbs could serve as garnishes behind the salad bar. Strout explains that the hydroponic unit was primarily for educational purposes and to promote awareness about ways food can be grown. Sodexo’s unit is currently not in use, but according to Strout, they plan on receiving a new unit in March, and students can expect to see ZipGrow in some form in the future.

Sodexo earned their Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice (LEAF) certification at the end of 2019, an award granted after third-party auditors examine multiple aspects of a restaurant’s production, from how much of their supply is locally sourced, to the availability of vegan food options. Dewhurst’s Level 1 certification is eligible for five years, and according to Strout, they are the first Sodexo unit in Canada to receive the certification.

Waste comes in the form of packaging in addition to food waste. “If I go right now to the garbage, I will find compostable glasses and things that we will have to redistribute,” said Lucia Sanchez-Abreu, the retail manager for Sodexo’s campus operations. Although all the food containers from Purple Pod are compostable, Sodexo is still required to provide trash and recycling bins, and therefore raise awareness about proper waste sorting. On this note, Strout introduces Cano as a potential future supplier of reusable food containers.

Cano’s program reduces waste by rewarding users for returning high-quality reusable food containers to designated collection bins, which can be placed around campus and any participating location across Canada. Users earn points on an app by scanning QR codes on the collection bins and the reusable containers that they are returning, and those points can be redeemed for awards. Though the containers are made of plastic, their reusability generates less waste than single-use compostable containers, and restaurants can save 40 per cent of their packaging costs. Strout expresses that Sodexo is looking to begin a conversation with Bishop’s University to see if this program could work in harmony with the university’s current sustainability strategy.

Across campus, Sodexo participates in their initiative Grounds for Growth, where their staff save coffee grounds to go to compost sites. Strout also notes that Aliment du Quebec is a key partner in maintaining locally sourced food. Sodexo has also encouraged plant-based diets by offering vegan and vegetarian meals. At Dewhurst’s, they strategically place these items towards the front of buffet lines.