Sodexo to Students: Cut Food Waste to Curb Climate Change

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Sodexo expands its commitment to building a better tomorrow for the planet and its people with the launch of "Stop Wasting Food," a campaign with one simple goal: Winning student support for cutting food waste to curb climate change.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click:  http://www.multivu.com/players/English/45656-Sodexo-Food-Waste-Reduction/

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(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100908/MM61101 )

Americans trash 25 percent of all the food they prepare each year, leading to 31 million tons of wasted food piling up in landfills annually. Food waste in landfills produces methane gas, which is at least 21 times more potent than carbon. Methane breaks down the ozone layer and leads to climate change.

"We are so careful to source and serve food for our customers in a sustainable way but if locally-sourced food ends up in a landfill then we're simply creating another environmental problem," said Tom Post, Sodexo's president of campus services. "The good news is that by simply thinking before we eat, we can trash our wasteful habits and dramatically reduce food waste today."

Sodexo is asking students to take two simple steps. The first is to only take what they plan to eat in all-you-care-to-eat dining halls. The second is to come back for more if they are still hungry.

To learn more, visit www.stopwastingfood.org.

Sodexo initiated a pilot program this fall at eight college campuses across the country to analyze and measure kitchen waste in an effort to better manage it. Colleges participating in the waste-reduction pilot program include Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; California State University of Monterey Bay in Seaside, Calif.; Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa.; Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore.; Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.; University of California at Davis, Calif.;  and University of Wisconsin in River Falls, Wis.  By reducing food waste, Sodexo can save fossil fuels that transport the waste. On Earth Day 2008, Sodexo called on all its college operations to give up trays, a move that reduced waste by 30 percent on average. To date, about 340 Sodexo-served campuses have stopped using trays permanently.

This campaign demonstrates Sodexo's commitment to work together with clients, suppliers and customers to take measurable sustainable actions today in the areas of environment, health and wellness and community that ensures a better tomorrow. Read more about Sodexo's Better Tomorrow Plan.

About Sodexo

Sodexo in North America

Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Daily Life Solutions company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On Site Service Solutions in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, as well as Motivation Solutions such as Esteem Pass. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $13 million in grants to fight hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions

Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations.  Based on this conviction, Sodexo is the strategic partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo's 380,000 employees, in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled range of On-site Service Solutions and Motivation Solutions. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates and to the fulfillment of its employees.

Key Figures (as of August 31, 2009)

SOURCE Sodexo

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