Dear Students and Parents,

Your Sodexo team continues to focus on student well-being, which we believe directly impacts student achievement. From providing nutritious meals that help students focus to creating an environment where safe, clean and comfortable classrooms help them engage in learning, we are proud to be your partner.

Look on the site for the monthly Fresh Pick. The Sodexo Fresh Pick program is designed to further the nutrition education of students, parents and educators by focusing on the many positive benefits of eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Each month features an instructional recipe video starring Sodexo Ambassador and Student Chef, Chef Remmi, using the Fresh Pick nutritional item of the month. 

Regards,

Steve Dunmore, President Sodexo Education – Schools

Westfield Washington Schools, Sodexo team up with local food pantry to stop hunger

For Washington Woods Elementary School fourth-grader Elizabeth Carney, the decision for her school to take part in Food Rescue was easy.

“I think it’s important not to waste your food and people that don’t have food can get food,” she said.

Carney is one of the students who have embraced Westfield Washington School District’s plan to give recycle leftover food from the students’ lunch trays for a mobile food pantry.

Sodexo provides the food service for the district. Beverly Goza-Holmes, a Sodexo general manager, serves as director of Student Nutrition Services for the school district.

“Two parents had heard about Food Rescue through another school district,” Goza-Holmes said. “We all met and we needed to decide how we would roll out the program. Sodexo is very big on stopping hunger. Finding a way to re-use the food that would go into the landfills is great. My biggest concern with the new (school lunch) regulations is that we are not wasting. Students have to take a fruit or a vegetable to be considered a reimbursable meal. Often times, they take it but they don’t want to eat it.”

Washington Woods and Oak Trace Elementary were the first two schools to pilot the program on Sept. 8. Goza-Holmes said she wanted to work the kinks out of the program before adding more schools. All nine district schools are now participating with the last three starting Sept. 29.