Historic snowfall near the nation's capital caused this snowstorm to be dubbed "Snowpocalypse" or "Snowmageddon" -- the federal government shut down, schools canceled classes, and stores posted signs that they were sold out of snow shovels, milk and eggs.
People were asked to “shelter in place” and not try to travel on roads that were impassable.
In the middle of “Snowpocalypse,” the Sodexo food service at George Mason University in northern Virginia didn’t skip a beat. During the snowy weekend, the dining room served more than 2,400 people, including about 200 cold and hungry facilities workers charged with snow removal.
Read about how Sodexo beat the snow.

When Sodexo responded  – as many companies did – to the tragic earthquake in Haiti, the good feelings rippled beyond Haiti throughout Sodexo. Read some reactions from our employees whose support of Haiti  received recognition from Pandini’s Restaurant :                                                                                          “This note is let you know that I had so much joy giving my donation... 
 
In 2008 I lead an effort to collect Diapers and Baby food for Peruvian children victims of the earthquake in Pisco.  With help from Sodexo coworkers and neighbors, we shipped over 7,000 diapers and over a hundred pounds of food.  After a ‘while,’ the donations reached the needy  through a Catholic church in Pisco.  I have to tell you that it was very problematic to get the donations out of customs in Peru, not to tell how many times we had to coordinate transportation arrangements to pick up the container from the port's storage in Callao.  The overall experience was amazing, it keep us working as volunteers for weeks.
 
Based on my experiences, I encourage everyone to help Haitians by donating money only, it is the most effective way to help.  In my view the WFP will do the best that is possible to help the victims of the earthquake.”
-- Edward Dulanto, Lead Applications Programmer

“Being of Haitian descent and having family in the midst of the devastation.  And although they are fine (thank God), I am really proud of my company and all that we’re doing for my family and others in Haiti.  Just want to personally THANK YOU & SODEXO!!!”
--Rachel Smith, Sr. Project Specialist, Tax, Controller & FP&A Departments

EDITOR'S NOTE: Click here to make donations to help the people of Haiti.

The United States consumes one-fifth of all the world's coffee, making it the largest consumer in the world. But few Americans think about the people who work to grow their coffee. For small farmers throughout the developing world whose livelihoods depend on products Americans enjoy every day, low prices and volatile markets have been a threat to their economic survival and concerns about that survival have led to the development of a “Fair Trade” system for purchasing coffee from small farmers. Fair trade is a system of exchange that helps farmers in developing countries gain direct access to international markets and develop the business capacity necessary to compete by marketing their own harvests. Organizations like TransFair USA certify that farmers receive a fair price for their product.

Fair trade awareness is rising, and fair trade certified coffee is now the fastest-growing segment of the US specialty coffee market. Currently 7 percent of the coffee Sodexo purchases (in pounds) is fairly and responsibly traded, and growing that share is one of the 14 commitments in Sodexo’s Better Tomorrow Plan . By purchasing fair trade certified products, we encourage a more robust market for fair trade and improve the lives of people who produce and provide these goods.

Several Sodexo accounts have already made great strides in shifting to purchasing fair trade hot beverages. Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., with four dining facilities that serve almost 1,900 students, has been managed by Carl Citron since 1989. In anticipation of the growing trend towards fair trade offerings, in 2005 Carl introduced Sodexo’s Jazzman's Café & Bakery to Babson’s campus, increasing the fair-trade coffee and tea offerings from 0 percent to about 15 percent.  Today, through the implementation of other fair trade options like Green Mountain and Aspretto in outlets across campus, he estimates that 75 percent of the coffees and teas offered at Babson are fair trade. Switching to fair trade products helps Sodexo support our clients by providing products that demonstrate their commitment to fair trade and sustainability.

Similar success in fair trade is found at Fordham University in Bronx, N.Y. With a dining population of 3,000, General Manager Brian Poteat estimates that Sodexo serves 2,000 cups of coffee every day, 60-70 percent of which are fair trade certified. In 2001, in response to increasing desire for these products, Brian introduced various fair trade offerings. Today, Fordham boasts two Jazzman’s and Aspretto locations, as well as one Green Mountain fair trade coffee location.

As a high volume purchaser of coffee and coffee products, Sodexo has a huge opportunity to make a difference in growing the fair trade market. Whether in response to client requests or as a result of the initiative of our managers, Sodexo has shown, and will continue to demonstrate leadership in contributing to the well-being and security of the farmers and farming communities that produce products we enjoy every day.

EDITORS NOTE: You can join a live online conversation between Arlin Wasserman and Paul Rice, CEO & President, TransFair USA, for a talk on fair trade on February 3, 2 p.m. EDT.

Recently, the labor union Service Employees International Union has made misleading accusations against Sodexo. The SEIU is in an intense fight with other unions, which have traditionally represented food service workers. This dispute includes competing claims to organize various workforce sectors. This infighting has generated several lawsuits and charges of unethical behavior between the unions. The SEIU's campaign against our industry has arisen out of this dispute.

As one of the nation's leading employers, providing more than 120,000 jobs -- most of which are in the food service industry -- Sodexo is the target of a campaign by SEIU that attempts to embarrass the company and force it into dealing with the SEIU to the exclusion of other unions.

The SEIU’s tactics include loosely combining a host of unrelated issues affecting the economic conditions of workers, including the national health care debate; federal housing policy; and the lingering effects of a historic recession, and somehow blames the impact of these issues on Sodexo.

The SEIU even provided an all expenses paid trip to Paris for their hand-picked Sodexo employees to attend the company’s annual shareholder meeting. The purpose? To spread more misinformation to European audiences.

The truth?

-- Sodexo employees’ wage levels are competitive within the industry, and typically are appreciably higher than the federal minimum wage, and we lead our industry in expanding benefits and training available to our front line employees. As a result, more than half of our entry-level managers come from our hourly paid employees.

--Sodexo’s standard wage and benefits package for full-time hourly employees includes paid sick leave, and a variety of health plans which allow employees to choose coverage and premium levels that meet their needs. On average, the company pays about two-thirds of all health insurance premiums.

--Sodexo unequivocally respects the rights of our employees to unionize, or not to unionize. Sodexo has more than 300 collective bargaining agreements with nearly every major union in the United States. We provide protection and specific procedures to ensure all employee complaints are heard in an environment of respect and concern. We have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination, harassment, or retaliation of any kind, and Sodexo employees have a variety of ways to report and resolve issues.

--Many independent organizations recognize Sodexo for its success in creating a diverse and inclusive work environment. Also, Sodexo was named one of the world's most ethical companies by the independent Ethisphere Institute.
 
Take a look at what other unions think of SEIU’s ethics.

For many, the new year is a time of resolution and reinvention. Sodexo, too, is in the midst of a bit of reinvention. Often, I am asked whether the recent economic crisis is going to make Sodexo reinvent its strategy. The short answer is, “no.” Does that mean we intend to stay the same? Again, no. Our strategy always has been to meet the needs of our clients and to exceed their expectations. Our clients are looking for solutions that will enable them to improve their productivity, to retain good employees, to meet the needs of their customers. In order to do that more effectively, rather than just offering a portfolio of products and services, Sodexo offers Quality of Daily Life service solutions. We firmly believe that quality of daily life contributes to the progress of individuals and the performance and competitiveness of organizations.  Sodexo always has offered our clients the insights that come from the breadth of our experience and the depth of our knowledge in employee motivation, effective business processes, and sustainable infrastructures. Now, we’re strengthening the partnerships we have with our clients to help them be more successful in attaining their overall strategies.

One signal of this change is that we have renamed our Food and Facilities Management services to On-Site Service Solutions. Unlike “hit and run” consultants, we manage on site.  Additionally, we have renamed our Service Vouchers and Cards to Motivation Solutions.  These changes, and others, signal a change of mindset (for us as well as our clients) that enables us to work together as strategic partners.  Together we create comprehensive service solutions that help our clients determine the best way to meet their challenges so that they can stay competitive despite the economic downturn. We’ve stepped up our capabilities to do this by helping our clients better serve their customers in ways that you might not have associated with Sodexo in the past.

For instance, you might expect us to serve food to patients in hospitals. But did you know we also are experts at maintaining high-end medical equipment? Not only that, but Sodexo also now offers in-home non-medical care for many of the 63% of patients who undergo surgical procedures and need additional follow-up care in their home. For our health care clients, it means we’ve helped them manage the end-to-end patient experience, ensuring that they are well cared for from the time they enter the hospital, throughout their stay, extending to the time they return home.

For Sodexo, it means we continue our vision of offering Quality of Daily Life service solutions for our clients, while reinventing the way we offer those solutions.