As Binghamton University students sit down for breakfast, lunch and dinner served by Sodexo, many are unaware of the magnitude of the presence that the company has on campus and around the world.
Jim Ruoff, the general manager of Binghamton Dining Services by Sodexo, is responsible for all dining hall services provided at the University. According to Ruoff, Sodexo typically serves 20,000 meals per day on campus and provides services such as catering, retail operations and nutritional counseling.
“Our contract encompasses the operation of all the dining service operations on campus,” Ruoff said. “It is my responsibility to make sure that Binghamton University is receiving a quality-driven dining program that supports the students’ academic success.”
The food supplied by Sodexo at BU comes from a variety of sources, many of them located in New York state. According to Enrico Dinges, senior manager of media relations at Sodexo, all milk is purchased from Byrne Dairy in Syracuse. Additionally, the primary BU supplier, which typically provides everything from dry and frozen goods to tabletop supplies, is Maines Paper & Food Service, Inc., located in Broome County.
“We use a combination of small local partners, regional vendors and big distributors,” Dinges said. “We source from a wide variety of local, sustainable and diverse suppliers that also meet the Supplier Code of Conduct and food safety requirement.”
Looking beyond the scope of campus and the Southern Tier, many students are unaware of the global presence of Sodexo.
The Sodexo Group was founded in 1966 by Pierre Bellon in Marseilles, France. Respectively, Sodexo, Inc. is the North American subsidiary of the French parent corporation.
According to Sodexo’s 2013 fiscal report, the North American branch of the company only made up 38 percent of its parent company’s total revenues. That same report also stated that Sodexo Group is the 18th largest employer worldwide, employing 419,000 worldwide and 8,500 in New York state.
Sodexo, Inc. is split up into North American subsections, Sodexo USA and Sodexo Canada. Sodexo USA is headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD.
According to Dinges, Sodexo serves about 850 campuses in the U.S. But the global Sodexo Group contracts out to a huge variety of organizations, from private corporations and government agencies to military bases and hospitals. Altogether, the company provides services to 75 million people per day in 80 countries.
Sodexo also offers “Quality of Life Services,” which are customized to fit the needs of each customer site.
In hospitals, these services include retail management, concierge services and even biomedical cleaning. Sodexo also works for correctional facilities by designing security systems for high-security prisons and training for staff.
As for students at BU, the relationship with Sodexo ranges from eating the food served to working with the company.
“Well I know they’re on many college campuses and hire student staff and work with student groups to find areas of improvement,” said Karen Walker, a junior majoring in management. “CIW area-wide government works closely with Sodexo to address some of these issues, there are actually Sodexo representatives who keep everyone updated.”
Jared Frazer, a senior majoring in English, said he was shocked at the actual size of the company.
“It’s definitely surprising,” Frazer said. “I didn’t know they served so many different facilities. It’s weird you could be eating the same food as your grandparents eat in a senior home.”