Sustainability

Sodexo had recently partnered up with CANO Company, A Canadian based company that aims to replace single-use packaging in various food service establishments. CANO is a great way to reduce packaging waste by providing customers with an easy, sustainable default option. With the CANO mobile app, users can borrow well designed re-usable food containers and earn rewards while dining at STFX University. Now available at Grab & Go and Bloomfield Cafe.

Too Good To Go is a service with a mobile application that connects customers with their local food service establishments that have surplus unsold food. The mobile app allows customers to buy and collect surprise bags of food - at a 1/3 of the original price - directly from the food service establishment. This amazing service is now available at STFX Campus Food with the pilot location at Bloomfield Cafe.

We are proud to announce that the new campus coffee chosen by YOU is now available at Morrison Hall Twelve, Bloomfield Cafe, Keating Cafe and in Catering (excluding Starbucks) The Spirit Bear Coffee Company traces its origins back to the lush rainforests of British Columbia. Founded in 2009 by environmental enthusiasts and coffee aficionados, it began as a humble roastery with a mission deeply rooted in sustainability and wildlife conservation. Inspired by the rare and majestic Kermode bear, also known as the Spirit Bear, the company pledged a portion of its profits to preserving the bear's habitat and supporting local indigenous communities. With a commitment to ethically sourced beans and artisanal roasting techniques, Spirit Bear Coffee quickly gained a loyal following for its exceptional quality and eco-conscious ethos. Over the years, it has expanded its reach beyond the local market, becoming a symbol of ethical entrepreneurship and environmental stewardship in the global coffee industry.

Through these initiatives, Sodexo demonstrates our commitment to fostering educational growth and leadership development within the StFX community.

Sodexo is a proud supporter of StFX bursaries and the annual Athletics Leadership Breakfast. We also back the NSSSA Leadership Conference, a transformative event for students, organized by students.

Our management team actively supports classes throughout the year by offering tours of our facilities and operations. Additionally, we provide presentations for high school, university, and community groups, catering to those eager to gain a deeper understanding of large-scale food service operations.

At Sodexo, we are committed to empowering our campus community by equipping students with the essential skills and resources for success after graduation from StFX. We proudly host up to three dietetic interns from the Human Nutrition Department and have also welcomed marketing interns from the Schwartz School of Business.

Sodexo supports multiple STFX Scholarships and offers some of our own. One being the Sodexo Canada Scholarship presented annually to the top ranked incoming first year student in the Human Nutrition Department, and one $5000 nonrenewable scholarship to a third- or fourth-year human nutrition student from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island who shows professional and academic promise as well as a commitment and interest in working in the food industry. Sodexo also has a bursary in the memory of the late Kevin Fraser, the former General Manager of Sodexo here at StFX. The bursaries are awarded annually to any first- or second-year student from Nova Scotia enrolled full time in the Human Nutrition Department. Every year five bursaries of $1000 are presented to the students in need of financial assistance.

The Circular Food Solution Challenge emerged as a response to the pressing need for sustainable solutions to reduce food waste in Nova Scotia. With Sodexo initiating a partnership with the Antigonish Community Fridge, the challenge aims to find innovative ways to repurpose leftover meal period ingredients into nutritious meals, thereby contributing to both environmental sustainability and community welfare. Throughout the challenge, we have donated in 2024 close to 6000 complete made meals available for those facing food insecurity. with the partnership with the community fridge, we have been able to provide both fridges located at the Antigonish Farmers Market and the Antigonish Public Library with meals and soups from food leftover from meal periods at Morrison Hall and repurposed with packaging to go to those in need. The initiative is currently poised to create 8000-10000 meals in the 2024-2025 academic year for the community. The Circular Food Solution Challenge has brought many valuable insights into promoting sustainable food practices and reducing food waste. By fostering collaboration, innovation, community engagement, education, and scalability, the initiative has laid the foundation for continued efforts to address food waste issues in Nova Scotia and beyond.

Sodexo is a proud member of the Antigonish Chamber of Commerce, demonstrating its commitment to fostering local economic growth and community engagement. As a global leader in quality of life services, Sodexo values the importance of local partnerships and actively participates in initiatives that benefit the Antigonish community. By being a part of the Chamber, Sodexo not only supports local businesses but also collaborates on projects that drive innovation and sustainability within the region. This membership underscores Sodexo's dedication to contributing to the prosperity and well-being of Antigonish, aligning with its broader mission of improving everyday experiences for individuals and communities around the world.

As part of Sodexo's commitment towards reducing its carbon emission by 34% by 2025, our unit had recently implemented Leanpath, an on-going easy process of tracking pre & post consumer food waste that captures information such as food type, loss and source. This platform generates actionable data to help employees engage and make direct changes to drive food waste reduction.

In October 2020, Sodexo Canada announced its partnership with the Humane Society International (HSI) as part of their plan to elevate plant-based menu offerings in Sodexo accounts across Canada. As part of the partnership, HSI/Canada's Forward Food program will provide new plant based training for existing Sodexo culinary professionals to develop new, innovative custom plant-based recipes. This partnership also includes Sodexo’s commitment towards a transition of swapping at least 20% of the food ingredients used to plant-based.

We recycle on campus to reduce and reuse material. On Campus we recycle the following products: cardboard, glass, steel, aluminum, paper, plastic, and e-waste.

Xprss Nap Dispensers save energy and waste. Not only are the napkins made of 100% recycled paper, the dispensers also encourage customers to take (and waste) fewer napkins. Energy is saved because less power is used to recycle paper products than to create them from virgin material.

Food waste in landfills creates methane, a greenhouse gas which is 21x more potent than CO2. Our first priority is to reduce food waste. We compost food waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also to enhance and amend soil health by improving soil structure, enhancing micro-organism content, increasing drought tolerance and reducing need for water and fertilizers.

Since 2019, instead of composting our coffee grounds, we introduced the Grounds for Growth program where we offer fresh coffee grounds for any interested individual to use them as organic plant fertilizers. Coffee grounds are excellent natural resource that help improve plant water retention and contribute additional organic material to the soil.

Bring your own reusable mug to any of our retail locations and get 25 cents off the purchase of your hot beverage. (10 cents off at Starbucks)

51% of the products used by Sodexo on the STFX campus come from the Maritimes and 16% comes from small business. Annually we host local suppliers and feature their products through our Morrison Hall menu and catering menus. Our current local partners includes but not limited to - Spurr Brothers Farmers LTD, den Haan Greenhouses, Sawler Farms LTD, VanMeekeren Farms, Vermeulen Farms LTD, and Bonnyman's Wild Blueberries. More information about these local farms can be read HERE in one of our bi-monthly newsletter

We are shifting all our shell eggs to cage free sources. This shift is part of our Better Tomorrow Plan commitment to sustainability raised products.

Tray less dinning reduces the amount of water and detergent used, saves energy and reduces food wastage. Trayless dining saves an estimated 80,000 Gallons of water per year, along with associated energy and food waste reduction.

We use bulk condiment dispensers to reduce the amount of plastic and food waste as well as reduce water consumption.

We save energy by turning equipment on and off only as needed.

Our Sustainable Seafood Policy is a key part of our commitment to eliminating all "At Risk" species from our menus by December 2011 and 100% of all contracted seafood sustainably sourced by 2015. Since 2012, Sodexo has partnered with Vancouver Aquarium's Ocean Wise Program, further enhancing its commitment to sustainable seafood to clients across Canada.

We work hard to get as many local ingredients as possible. Our professionally trained chefs design our menus to take advantage of the fresh fruits and vegetables that are naturally in season. Some of the items we consistently receive from local providers are: milk, bread, apples, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, coffee and Chocolate. Just Us is a local, fair trade coffee that we proudly serve and Aspretto, in Mini Moe’s is a fair trade purchased and fair trade certified product. Everything that touches it is green, from the 10% PCF cups to the renewable resource stirrers, to the fair trade sugar wrapped in recyclable paper and printed with vegetable dye.

We supply approximately 7 500 nutritious and delicious meals per year to community members in need. We operate our meals on wheels program 300 days a year.

Bye-bye plastic - Hello Paper! Did you know that we have eliminated the use of plastic bags and straws for all take out items? Look for recyclable paper bags and paper straws at all our locations!

We look for coffee suppliers that are ethically sourced ad fair trade. Just Us is a local, fair trade coffee that we proudly serve in catering and in our main dinning location, Morrison Hall. Aspretto, that we serve in Mini Moe's, is a fair trade purchased and fair trade certified product. At MSB we serve Full Steam coffee which is local and fair trade. Everything that touches it is green, from the 10% PCF cups to the renewable resource stirrers, to the fair trade sugar wrapped in recyclable paper and printed with vegetable dye.