MarketBeat NE JANUARY 2013

For questions, comments,

or to contribute a story/update

please contact

Allyson.Murphy@sodexo.com

All are welcomed!

VALENTINE’S

DAY!

If you are having a special meal

or other event on your campus

for Valentine’s Day,

publicize it with

posters, napkin inserts, etc.

For customized

artwork contact

warren.wills@sodexo.com Presented By: Sara Patterson, Nutrition Manager This semester, Sodexo and STRIDE are working together for the good of the community.

STRIDE stands for Sodexo Training and Recruitment for Individuals with Disabilities for Em-

ployment. It is an on-the-job training program for adults with disabilities. By the end of the pro-

gram, participants will have spent 20 weeks working and learning the ins and outs of the food

service industry. For the program‘s campus services debut at Plymouth State University, So-

dexo has had the opportunity to work with 4 individuals employed through STRIDE including

Haley Lenentine, Jim Preston, Jeremiah Stevens, and Ann Thibodeau. The group coordinator,

Shelley Shamberger organizes speakers and teaches the group information relevant to serv-

ing food to the student population. Some of the topics include: expectations for the work day,

how to handle challenges that may arise, and basic nutrition information. After speaking with

the STRIDE interns, they had some very positive things to share about the program. Jim

stated that he ―[tries] to do the very best I can do.‖ Ann has ―a lot of fun making the sand-

wiches,‖ and Jeremiah ―really likes working in the dishroom.‖ Haley is a big fan of the food and

says that, ―the pizza is excellent.‖ Collaborating with STRIDE has been rewarding for the staff

and interns alike.

On December 20, 2012 the STRIDE group gathered with friends and family at Plymouth State

University to celebrate their completion of the STRIDE program. General Manager Chris Mon-

geon and District Marketing Coordinator Rich Blanchard represented Sodexo with speeches

about the program and Sodexo‘s commitment to working with persons with disabilities through

the SOAR network group. The best words of the night however, came from the STRIDE mem-

bers who each took time to thank each other, Sodexo, and their program mentors. Their

words were sincere and filled with emotion. It was truly an amazing celebration of four amaz-

ing individuals and Sodexo‘s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Working Together at PSU

Page 2

“What a weekend we had! Our 11th Polar Express went off without a hitch thanks to our many sponsors and legions of volunteers. Big thanks to So-dexo for supplying 3600+ cups (!) of delicious hot cocoa for our riders. As always, the cocoa was a big hit – with young and old alike.”

Linda Allen, Vermont Children‘s

Trust Foundation Once again, Riani District accounts in Burlington, Vermont volunteered time, manpower and product to support The Vermont Children‘s Trust Foundation‘s 11th annual Polar Express. Sodexo is a proud Silver Sponsor of this event; a recreation of the popular children‘s story The Polar Express, complete with an actual train ride, caroling conductors, hot chocolate and holiday cookies, a reading of the story and a visit from Santa. The event is a Burlington com-munity holiday favorite and Sodexo Campus Services at University of Vermont, Champlain College and St. Michael‘s have all participated; providing over three hundred dozen deco-rated Christmas Cookies in the beginning years of the event and more recently, supplying the hot chocolate made with local Vermont products. Paul Bahan, Riani‘s District Marketing Coordinator, coordinates the Sodexo volunteers for the weekend. Sodexo managers and hourly staff volunteers from all three colleges prepare over 140 gallons of hot chocolate throughout the weekend, for delivery to the station where The Polar Express departs on eight voyages to the North Pole, every hour, on the hour starting at noon both days. Sodexo teams make two deliveries each day to insure the cocoa is hot and fresh. Young student volunteers, posing as Santa‘s chefs, ride the train to serve cookies and hot chocolate to wide-eyed children dressed in their pajamas. When the train completes its 20minute, round trip journey, the children step down from the cars and are led into Union Station, which has been transformed into The North Pole. They are treated to a reading of the Polar Express and a visit by Santa. For over 20 years, the Vermont Children‘s Trust Foundation has been working to keep Ver-mont one of the best states in the nation for raising children. VCTF was established in 1991 with the express goal of raising private monies to fund prevention programs for children and families. Since that time, we have helped tens of thousands of kids attend pre-school, stay safe after school, pair up with mentors, learn about substance abuse prevention, train to be leaders, improve reading skills, gain confidence and so much more. We have done this by granting over $10 million to support over 1,500 community-based programs throughout Vermont, programs that aim to keep children safe and secure, help them to make wise choices, prepare them to be good students and citizens and encourage them to feel good about themselves. Final numbers are not in yet, but Vermont Children‘s Trust anticipates raising close to $100,000 from this year‘s Polar Express event. Sodexo is proud to be a contributor, keeping the magic of The Polar Express ringing for children and families in Vermont. To learn more about Polar Express and the Vermont Children‘s Trust Organization: http://www.vtchildrenstrust.org/

Sodexo Fuels the

Polar Express

In Support of the Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation

St. Michael's volunteers, Karen Taylor and Manager Jeremy Metcalf filling up hot chocolate for their delivery.

Chef Sandi Earl stirring up hot chocolate at Champlain.

Page 3

Presented By Joanna Brunell, Marketing Manager & Caitlin Moskwa, Marketing Coordinator While in college, did you ever have the chance to plan a theme night in the main dining hall? Unlike some college students, we know that students at The College of New Jersey will leave their college years saying ‗yes indeed!‘. TCNJ Dining Services prides itself on working with various student groups every semester to plan theme meals, upscale meals, and other projects to support their causes. During the Fall 2012 semester, we planned three very successful theme dinners in our residence dining hall, The Atrium at Eickhoff, with the help of the Residence Hall Associa-tion, Student Government and the Senior Class Council. Typically, when we work with stu-dent groups, we give them a blank slate, and help them to create a fun event from the ground up, working to select everything from the menu to the music. Here is what each group came up with: The Residence Hall Association worked with us to create a theme meal that took students down to the bayou for some New Orleans cuisine at their ―Princess and the Frog‖ theme meal. The menu included favorites from the Big Easy such as Shrimp Po Boy, Etouffe with Dirty Rice & Crawfish Remoulade Salad. The RHA also hosted a table serving Bananas Foster with Vanilla Ice Cream, giving them an opportunity to speak with students face to face to let them know what their organization does. As part of a large campaign with Student Government to encourage students to vote in the 2012 Presidential Elections, we worked with them to create an upscale Presidential Dinner. The menu was inspired by dinners that have been served at the White House, specifically Inaugural Dinners, and choices ranged from Grilled Rib Eye with Buttermilk Crisp Onions to Salmon with Sorrel Sauce. The SG scooped ice cream at a sundae bar, and handed out pretzels and peanuts (served in the simpler days of Inaugural Dinners) and used that chance to remind students again to get out and vote. Finally, in November, we teamed up with the Senior Class Council and created an event called the Senior Class Dinner and Fair. The SCC created a menu of their favorite foods such as a mac & cheese bar and buffalo chicken pizza, and also incorporated fair food favorites such as corndogs and fried pickles. Class Council members from the Freshman, Sophomore and Junior classes also helped to run a popcorn machine, cotton candy machine and sno-cone machine. As part of the event, we also helped to organize a ―fair‖ of re-sources for seniors including representatives from Alumni Affairs, TCNJ Career Center, TCNJ Bookstore, The Seal (yearbook) and Herff Jones Senior Class Rings.

The College of New Jersey

– Collaborating With Students

Page 4

Roasted rattlesnake and fried alligator were on the menu for stu-dents at Curry College on October 17th when the school‘s Dining Services presented ―Exotic Explorers Theme Dinner‖ in the Dining Marketplace of the Student Center. ―Curry Dining Services prides itself on making every dining oppor-tunity an exceptional student experience,‖ says General Manager Keith Meal of Curry College‘s dining services provider, Sodexo. ―We‘re taking this mission to the next level by offering exotic menu choices while educating students about their origin and prepara-tion.‖ Sodexo Executive Chef Christian King developed the innovative theme meal and menu. ―Our culinary staff prepared all of the exotic menu items in our open kitchen and used many recipes from their home countries, including the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Haiti,‖ says Meal. The program, presented in collaboration with the Curry College Student Activities Department, offered students a ―once in a life-time‖ opportunity to sample some fairly exotic menu items such as… - Ginger Beer Glazed Mako Shark - Fried Alligator, Creole Remoulade - Slow Roasted WildBoar, Demi-Glace - Ostrich Egg Fried Rice - Roasted Chipotle Rattlesnake - Buffalo Burgers - Ostrich Burgers - Chai Tea - Sriracha Ice Cream

Exotic Meal Highlights Ethnic

Cuisines at Curry College

Rattlesnake and alligators and ostriches…oh my!

Sodexo at Marist Supports College's All-Nighter

Fundraising Program for Children's Hospital

Each year, the Marist College student body engages in a three night event called ―Up ‗til Dawn‖ during which participants address letters requesting donations to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Sodexo Dining Services, the school‘s food service pro-vider, is an on-going sponsor of the event, providing nourishment and support for the late night letter writers.

The letters generate donations to support St. Jude, an organization that treats children suffering from catastrophic diseases and works to find cures for these ailments, at no cost to patients or their families. Marist College is the highest grossing school in its region for donations to St. Jude, and nationally recognized as a top fundraiser.

―We've been able to raise well over $100,000 for the kids of St. Jude since starting this program a few years ago,‖ says Michael John-son, Class of 2013, Senate Speaker for the Marist College Student Government Association and member of The St. Jude Fundraising Committee. ―Our fundraising is done mainly through our three nights of Up 'til Dawn. On each of these nights, we provide live enter-tainment, exciting raffles, and free food made possible by donors like Sodexo.‖

Marist‘s involvement with the St. Jude foundation started in 2008 when Steve Townsend, a former student body president, started the event.

―It is just a great cause, and we have been doing it ever since!‖ says Maryellen Conway, the Advisor of the St. Jude Executive Board Committee. Since 2008 through 2011, Marist has raised $42,000, $29,000, $32,000 and $36,000 in each year respectively. This year, over 1,500 letters were written to family and friends by Marist students and faculty asking them to donate to the cause.

In addition to the exotic menu, the Curry Dining Marketplace décor was temporarily transformed with exotic foliage while the Dining Services staff wore pith helmets and special tee-shirts created for the event. Students who chose to sample the exotic menu items received a commemorative tee-shirt. The special program was highly publi-cized with radio ads on the Curry Radio station and daily posts to the Dining Services Facebook page. ―Response from students is overwhelming,‖ says Meal. ―The real success of our Exotic Explorer‘s Night was the interaction be-tween the Sodexo culinary team and our students.‖ Sodexo‘s program at Curry College offers monthly themed events and weekly food station events. The themes range from health and wellness with Sodexo‘s Regional Nutrition Manager Danielle Shargorodsky to ethnic menu diversity events like ―Taste of the Dominican Republic‖, ―Passport to the World‖, Black History Month, and Native American History Month.

Page 5

Lasell College:

Fresh from the Pantry Hats off to Everyone who works at and shopped at Shaw's Newtonville and took the time to donate to us. We picked up 130 cases of food thanks to your generosity. Check out the photo in the next column for proof!

Sierra Magazine Features

Sodexo R.D. Sharing Her

Spicy Secrets!

Avital Andrews, writer for Sierra Magazine, recently interviewed five food industry ex-

perts about their favorite ways to ―banish bland,‖ and liven up dishes with eco-friendly

spices. Here‘s what Sodexo‘s own Danielle Shargorodsky had to say:

DANIELLE SHARGORODSKY is a nutrition manager at the food-service company

Sodexo. A registered dietitian, she is developing new spice blends, now in the testing

stages. Formerly, she managed nutritional services at the University of Massachusetts

Dartmouth.

"The organic no-salt seasoning from Costco's KIRKLAND SIGNATURE brand is my go

-to product for crowd-pleasing dishes. This savory blend of 21 organic spices and in-

gredients provides a fantastic flavor combination without any salt, and adds a kick

without bringing on the heat. My favorite use for this versatile, gluten-free blend is

sprinkling it on roasted vegetables. I also use it as a tasty topping for popcorn. As an

added bonus, the bottle is recyclable." $8 for 14.5 ounces.

And thanks too, to everyone who found the just-right Christmas tree at Whole Foods, Walnut Street. Our stor-age area is full again thanks to these efforts and your generous support of the food drives (that's you TechTar-get and Clarks, Biltmore Cafe, Newton Montessori...) sponsored around town. Did you see all those lights at Newton City Hall? All those people who were at the lighting ceremony and at the Mayor's Open House brought lots of canned goods that will help us and the Newton Food Pantry for months to come. Thank you City of Newton employees and resi-dents! We're in good shape financially too, with generous new grants from People's Federal Savings and Eastern Banks. And finally, a big thank you to the wonderful people at Sodexo/Lasell College who have taken their corporate goal to heart by helping us with the Greater Boston Food Bank pick up each week. A wish come true for the new year!

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Helping Hands

Across America

raises 46,000

Pounds of food for

five Maine pantries.

Sodexo at University of New England partners with students, faculty, local high school Teachers and students from Old Orchard Beach High School, Kennebunk High School, the University of New England (UNE) and its dining services partner, So-dexo, joined forces to raise a record amount of food donations for five local food pantries this year. The project is part of Sodexo‘s annual ―Helping Hands Across America‖ campaign to help those in need at the community level. ―We collected over 46,000 pounds of food and donated to five food pantries in Saco, Biddeford, Kennebunk and Old Orchard Beach,‖ said Amanda Partridge, an English teacher at Old Orchard Beach High School. ―Each pantry left with over 600 pounds of food and a check for $1200. It was a reminder to all of us about the real needs of our communities - and an event which will continue to raise awareness each year.‖ When the program began at UNE in 2005, the efforts raised 1,800 pounds for two area pantries. Over the years, the campus dining services team engaged new community groups and implemented various strategies to increase donations including bottle drives, selling paper donation ―hands,‖ bake sales, and collection boxes at local schools and churches. ―This year the UNE Hockey team approached us and expressed interest in conducting a bottle drive to help raise money for the cause,‖ said Dan Roy, Sodexo General Manager at UNE. ―They all met one Saturday in October, collected for two hours, and raised 1,068 pounds of food.‖ The food distribution was a rewarding experience for all. ―Again and again, the message we heard was that the pantries are seeing record numbers of people, and that our help was much needed and appreciated,‖ said Amy Roy, a teacher from Kennebunk High School. Helping Hands Across America represents the mission of Sodexo‘s Better Tomorrow Plan which includes fighting hunger and malnutrition by engaging the entire Sodexo community including employees, customers, clients and suppliers. For more information about this plan, visit www.sodexousa.com.

Page 7

People You Should Know:

“Baker Dave” Okapal

Nickee Plaksen can be reached at nicole.plaksen@temple.edu. Dave Okapal, better known as ―Baker Dave,‖ is the pastry chef for Sodexo at Johnson and Hard-wick dining hall and the Student Center food court. He has been running the bakery at the cafeteria for nine years. Along with baking gingerbread men for the holidays and Temple ―T‖ cookies on a regular basis, Okapal also bakes for a cause. In October, he and his colleagues baked cookies with pink ribbons on them to raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation in the fight against breast cancer. He helped raise more than $1,400 for the cause. In addition to baking being his occupation, Okapal has a passion for baking as an art. ―As a creative person I think you need an outlet, and I learned to express myself through baking,‖ Okapal said. WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORK-ING IN THE BAKERY WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED? Dave Okapal: When I came in here, the bakery was run basically like a standard, contract-services bakery. The food was fine, it was-n‘t over the top at all. My back-ground is actually working in four-star hotels and resorts, so I didn‘t just grow up in this envi-ronment, I‘m used to making everything from scratch, so I took everything that they weren‘t making from scratch and started making it from scratch. The first task when I got here was to switch over to higher quality, healthier food. That‘s basically what I‘ve been doing since then. TTN: WHY DOES EVERYBODY CALL YOU BAKER DAVE? DO: Well the whole reason the ―Baker Dave‖ nickname stuck was because — and I don‘t think I‘m exaggerating — but I think there were [about] five people working here with the name Dave, and it just got [confusing]. You know, you‘d be like, ―Well, what did Dave say about that?‖ And the other person would be like, ―Well, which Dave are you talking about?‖ So you‘d respond, ―Baker Dave‖ and the name kind of just stuck. There was a ―Catering Dave‖ but it wasn‘t quite the same. It was more to explain what he did. It‘s go-ing to sound kind of silly, but I think that there‘s a little bit of a distinction between a title like that and a personality. It‘s going to sound stupid to say this, but I guess because bak-ing is more than just a job, it‘s more of who I am. A title like ―Catering Dave‖ is more about the job, not their passion.

TTN: HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR PASSION FOR BAKING? DO: So, I‘ve always felt that I was a fairly creative person. I would express that in different ways growing up…I was actually in a band in high school and we would write our own music and touring and you know, we thought we were going to be the greatest thing ever and then that fell apart. I played guitar, I started playing the violin when I was 4 years old, and my whole life has been revolved around music, my parents both played instruments and that‘s just something we did. So, anyway, I ended up [graduating high school] and I had to pick a school to go to. So I decided to go to culinary school. I went to Johnson & Wales [University] and actually went down and toured the school and had already signed up to be in culinary and do the regular chef thing. But during the tour there were two points that totally pulled me away from that. One was visiting the butcher shop, and I real-ized I had no interest in playing with raw meat — it‘s kind of gross. The next point, I walked into the pastry shop and I saw this guy blowing sugar. It looks very similar to blowing glass in that you make the sugar stuff, and you blow air into it and you mold it into whatever you want. And I was like, ―Wow this is awesome, this is what I want to do.‖ So I switched my major at that point.

TTN: WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND IN BAKING? DO: So right when you first get out of college, you do the grunt work. You get out of school and you have this de-gree, and you‘re doing the crappy work at these places. But you want it to look good that you worked at these places. I worked at Trump‘s Taj Mahal and I worked at the Hilton Resort and it was great to have all these fantastic names on my résumé, but I was scooping ice cream, it‘s not awe-some stuff. I would just keep moving up and, eventually, I had a job at Hotel DuPont and I was doing all the wedding cakes. At that point, I was able to use some of my creativ-ity. I actually created new cakes to put in our books to sell to people and customers would come to me and ask for a suggestion and I would be free to do what I wanted. Once I was able to use that creativity, I realized creativity isn‘t necessarily bound by what you think you love, but just that [the creativity] needs to be expressed somehow. I realized later on that, as I‘m over there creating all these cakes, I was playing guitar less and less and less, but I was okay with it. I was expressing myself in another way. I think that‘s the point when I took it on more as a personality, more than just a job. Continued on next page

Page 8

BAKER DAVE

TTN: HOW DID YOU RAISE THE MONEY FOR SUSAN G. KOMEN FOR THE CURE FOUNDATION? DO: A guy that I work with actually suggested [this idea]. He was like, ―Oh, we should do something this month, it‘s Octo-ber Breast Cancer [Awareness Month].‖ But once we started doing it and I said ―OK, let‘s do this, and I designed [a ribbon-shaped cookie] and decided how much we were going to charge and what we were going to do and where the money was going to go, I actually got really into it. My mom is actu-ally a breast cancer survivor, so it became very personal. And I think that makes a big difference. My only regret is that I didn‘t make more cookies. Every cookie that I made, we sold, so I feel like if I made more cookies, we would have made more money. But there are only so many hours in the day, but I somehow wish I could have raised more.

Marist College students enjoyed an authentic taste of Texas this month as part of the Sodexo Signature Chef Series on campus. The school hosted Chef Ernest Ser-vantes, a classically trained chef known for his win as Food Network’s “Chopped Grill Masters Champion. Earlier this month, Chef Ernest served up his specialties in the Main Dining Hall including Texas brisket tacos, poblano and cheddar mashed potatoes, cowboy pinto beans, green chili mac & cheese, and jalapeno cheddar cornbread. Marist College student Andrew Eisgruber enjoyed the din-ing experience. ―Although we‘ve had that meal at the dining hall before, Chef Ernest put a home style twist on it which made it unique,‖ said Eisgruber. ―I would love more Chef Series events on campus so we can try different styles of food.‖ Chef Ernest was featured on Destination America “BBQ Pitmasters”. From BBQ cook-offs, local chef challenges to ―taste of the town‖ competitions, Chef Ernest has many awards and trophies to his name including three state BBQ . titles and over 100 wins in the past two years in BBQ cooking.

Marist College Dining

hosts Chopped Grill

Masters Winner

Ernest Servantes

Chef Ernest is a member of Texas Chefs Association, American Culinary Federation and World Association of Chefs Societies. With write ups in Texas Monthly, Country Living and Na-tion’s Restaurant News, this humble Texan lives by the motto ―I‘m only good until the next meal I cook.‖ Sodexo‘s Signature Chef Series is a national program dedi-cated to educating students, faculty and community mem-bers on culinary expertise and to showcase the specialty cuisines and culinary expertise of chefs from around the United States. About Sodexo at Marist College For students at Marist College, finding favorite foods on campus is easy. Sodexo is proud to offer a dining program complete with signature brands and menu selections. Din-ing locations on campus include Resident Dining Hall, The Valley Café, The Cabaret, Jazzman's, Donnelly & Dyson Café, Hancock Center Café and Library Coffee Café. The dining services team is committed to creating exceptional student experiences

We did pretty well — we raised about $1,400, so I thought that was pretty good. It‘s not just me though, I totally think that the people that bought them — the students, the fac-ulty — whoever went out and bought these, it‘s a testa-ment to them too, because they were willing to pay a little extra to support the cause. The breast cancer cookies were exactly the same, just with food coloring and a pink ribbon. We sold them for $1.99 and the original cookies are $1.49…A dollar from each cookie went to the cause. I would love to work more with student organizations to help raise money for them. For example, if Habitat for Humanity came to me and wanted help raising money, I would bake house-shaped cookies and sell them to do-nate proceeds to the organization. We made cookies for NCOW — National Coming Out Week. It wasn‘t for monetary support, but more for a con-versation starter to bring awareness. So that‘s the kind of thing I‘d like to do in the future.

When Fritz White is not analyzing

campus dining budgets for Sodexo‘s

Boston area clients, the financial

controller serves as a Rescue Spe-

cialist with the Massachusetts Ur-

ban Search & Rescue Task Force 1

(MA-TF1). He was recently de-

ployed with the team in response to

Hurricane ―Sandy‖.

Urban Search & Rescue involves

the location, rescue, and initial

medical stabilization of victims

trapped in confined spaces. Struc-

tural collapse is most often the

cause of victims being trapped, but

victims may also be trapped in

transportation accidents, mines and

collapsed trenches.

On October 29, 2012, when Hurri-

cane ―Sandy‖ came ashore on the

New Jersey coast, the storm af-

fected a significant portion of the eastern United States coastline from Massachusetts to Virginia and beyond.

White was subsequently deployed with MA-TF1 to Queens, NY and placed under Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Command to

conduct search and surveys in the Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach, Broad Channel and Rockaway areas where significant damage

occurred and several hundred structures were searched.

Many residents chose to remain in the area and some residences were found to have significant levels of carbon monoxide from

pumps and generators running after the storm.

Immediately on White‘s arrival with his squad in New York, FDNY requested assistance in a detailed accountability search of

the neighborhoods which had been flooded. Each squad was responsible to check every structure in its sector and determine if there

were any potentially injured or missing people.

Searches were accomplished by knocking on doors, interviewing neighbors and if a structure was significantly damaged, performing a

physical search.

―In the areas we searched, the flood waters had receded from much of the area, but the damage was clearly evident,‖ said

White. ―Cars, boats, shipping containers the size of trucks along with anything else that floats were left in piles as the water receded.

Homes and businesses were left saturated with water which may have contained raw sewage, fuel oil, gasoline and other chemicals.

Mud and sand coated everything.‖

In one neighborhood, according to White, the storm moved so much sand that when the water receded the sand resembled the drifts

of snow left from a New England Blizzard, burying lawns, fences, roads, cars and anything else in its way.

―It‘s hard to find words that describe how I felt watching people begin to clear out their homes and business by dragging

their possessions ruined the toxic floodwaters to the curb for the trash,‖ said White. ―The neighborhoods we saw reminded me

of neighborhoods in Boston and, had the storm shifted track, it could have been easily our homes and business destroyed.‖

―Witnessing the vastness of the damage areas gives a person an appreciation of the logistical challenges faced by the people of New

York and New Jersey. It will be years before they fully recover,‖ said White.

Page 9

From financials to the frontlines;

Sodexo district controller

supports hurricane rescue efforts

Presented By: Carly Lauraine, Dieti-

cian Intern, World Learning

Carly Lauraine is a Keene State Col-

lege student completing her Dietician

Internship at World Learning Institute.

World Learning in Brattleboro, VT

envisions a just world, driven by en-

gaged citizens and thriving communi-

ties. The student body inhabiting the

campus this semester is proving to be

an exemplary group striving for just

that!

The Student Board of Directors con-

sists of students who take pride in

their food choices. Their ideas and

concerns are brought up in monthly

meetings with Sodexo team leaders.

Recent discussions have included con-

cerns of where food comes from, how

broad is our „local‟ food radius, and

“is this organic?” One topic that is routinely discussed is the increasing inclu-

sion of organic food at World Learning. In conjunction with student leaders, the

Sodexo team is working this semester to revamp some aspects of the dining

program, including the salad bar.

Erik Atkins, from Black River Produce spoke with students at one of the com-

mittee meetings to educate the group on exactly how much organic food World

Learning purchases. A surprising 20% of produce that enters World Learning

is certified organic. Organic fruits and vegetables are grown without the use of

conventional pesticides, fertilizers, synthetic ingredients, sewage sludge or ion-

izing radiation. Atkins stated that purchasing 20% organic produce is makes

World Learning a leader of organic purchasing in the area.

John Benouski, General Manager at World Learning worked with students and

made arrangements to showcase an entirely organic salad bar for a limited time.

Black River Produce sourced products from local certified organic farms, and

additional organic items were sourced from Sysco to make this lunch extraordi-

narily special! On Tuesday, November 13th the organic salad bar made its de-

but! The items offered included mushrooms, baby spinach, arugula, romaine

lettuce, chickpeas, avocados, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, dressings,

cottage cheese, raisins and more! Students were very enthusiastic about the

organic produce and commended the staff for their efforts to source and pro-

mote the organic products.

Scientific evidence is still lacking as to whether or not eating organic foods

offers more health benefits than eating conventional foods. The Mayo Clinic

says there is no conclusive evidence showing that organic food is more nutri-

tious than non-organic food. Dena Bravata, MD, MS and senior author of a

paper comparing the nutrition of organic and non-organic foods states, “There

isn‟t much difference between organic and conventional foods, if you‟re an adult and making a decision based solely on your

health.” The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states, “remember, whether they are organically grown or conventionally

grown, fruits and vegetables are essential to health and disease prevention. Organic or not, try to include at least five servings

every day in your eating plan.”

The benefits of organic foods may be controversial, but the success of the organic salad bar was not! Creating the all-organic

salad bar was a great way to highlight some local produce and encourage students to eat a colorful organic salad instead of

their typical lunch choice. Based on student feedback most of them who opted for the organic salad bar on that Wednesday

were excited to have the option!

Page 10

100% Organic at World Learning

Page 11

Brittany Ballantyne Social Media Director Approximately a ton, or nearly 2,000 pounds, of food waste

is thrown into the trash at the Zorn Dining Commons on a

daily basis. To put that amount into perspective, a car

weighs a ton.

An elephant will typically weigh a ton. A hippopotamus is

another animal that falls into that weight category. This

waste does not include liquids such as milk and juice.

General Manager of the Dining Commons, Josef Quirinale,

described the domino effect of what this waste does. He

said if less food is wasted, less food is prepared. If less

food is prepared, students can get a wider variety of food

and save their own meal plan money.

―It‘s like taking a couple hundred bucks every day-it‘s more

than a couple hundred bucks-and saying, ‗I‘m throwing this

in the garbage‘,‖ Quirinale said.

He also said, ―It‘s your money that is getting thrown away. I

don‘t think that‘s quite hit home. We‘re [dining commons

staff] trying to make that hit home.‖

Members of the dining commons staff have begun what

they call the ―box project.‖ Boxes and milk crates were

placed in the front entrance of the cafeteria, past the hand-

scan lobby. These boxes are labeled by day, showing how

much food is wasted in that specific period of time.

―They‘re front and center, they‘re in your face so you have

to stop and wonder and you have to look at them every day

and it keeps growing and growing,‖ Rebecca Briggs, regis-

tered dietitian and marketing manager of the dining com-

mons, said.

Briggs explained that the project is a way to ―visually repre-

sent how much food is wasted on plates. Post consumer

waste is what we technically call that here in the dining

commons, in hopes that a visual representation might bring

about some awareness and raise the conscienceless of

students to maybe change that,‖ she said.

Dining Commons Service Manager Penny LaPalme said

the most waste she sees gets tossed out is during the din-

ner meal period.

Nate August, senior service manager of the dining com-

mons, said typically Tuesday and Wednesday nights are

the busiest in terms of population.

He said there are above 1,800 to 1,900 guests that come

through the door to eat (or, from what statistics show, not

eat the entirety of what is on their plates).

―And with that 1,800 to 1,900 visitors, you have the poten-

tial of having almost 500 pounds of waste,‖ Quirinale said.

LaPalme said the total amount of waste per day is between

1,500 and 2,000 pounds.

Food Waste Piles Up In Boxes

In The Dining Commons

These cafeteria staff members pointed out that once some-

thing gets taken from a pan, stove, basket or pot, it cannot

be put back out or salvaged for health reasons.

This may be why August finds whole items, such as apples,

left to be thrown in the trash on the dish carousel.

August recalled that sometime in October, 200 guests

pledged to clean their plate for a meal period.

He said those 200 people alone made a little bit of a differ-

ence.

LaPalme recommended students and other dining guests

take smaller amounts of food and said to ―think of it like a

regular restaurant, wait until the line goes down so you‘re

not grabbing things from places you don‘t really want. I

know it‘s hard because sometime there‘s everything you

like in one day,‖ she said.

Quirinale pointed out that another trend he‘s noticed is that

specific portions of meals tend to be thrown out, such as

hamburger buns, because some would rather eat just the

meat given.

Sometimes a student won‘t want onions in something or

dislike certain parts of a big dinner, but can easily ask for a

specific plate of food.

―They don‘t have to get what they don‘t want,‖ he ex-

plained, and said many students aren‘t aware of that.

August compared the process of finishing all the food on

one‘s plate to recycling.

He recognized recycling as an easy task and something

that comes second nature nowadays.

―By not having to think too much about what you‘re doing,

just by simply cleaning your plate, you can have an envi-

ronmental impact at some point along the way,‖ August

said.

Briggs said waste not only has cost implications, but there‘s

a nutritional perspective of it.

She also addressed the hunger issue and said this food

can be ―used to feed people all over the world and in our

own community.‖

She also mentioned the sustainable aspect of food produc-

tion and said for consumers to think about how many re-

sources it takes for food to make it out of the farm, onto

trucks, into cafeterias and onto one‘s plate.

August said the amount of waste at Keene State College

can be put on paper and in percentages, but to really see

how much this waste accumulates over time is their aim.

Notes on napkins have been posted on corkboards in the

dining commons and guests have asked what the boxes

are all about, which is what August said was the intention.

Quirinale said, ―If we‘ve have one hundred students ask,

then they‘ve had their awareness raised and that‘s impor-

tant to us.‖