The new contract, which starts in September 2023 and is a three-year extension, will see the deployment of Sodexo’s digital pre-ordering system School Food United (SFU) at all Oasis academy schools in time for the 2023-24 academic year.
Sodexo has also partnered with Rethink Food’s Futures programme to provide Oasis academy pupils with soil-free tower gardens to enable the children to grow fresh produce from seed to salad in 60 days. According to Rethink Food research children who grow their own food are five times more likely to eat it.
Steve Hawkins, managing director of schools at Sodexo UK & Ireland said: “Together we are committed to working together to ensure pupils enjoy tasty, nutritious school meals every day, and to help raise awareness of not only the importance of a well-balanced diet but how small changes can make a big difference on the impact food has on the planet, whether that is choosing a low-carbon meal or ensuring that food waste is kept to a minimum.
"We have enjoyed engaging Oasis pupils on sustainability issues over the last 12 years and with Elizabeth’s help we will continue to do this and support Oasis on its net zero journey as we too navigate ours.”
Other Sodexo initiatives include:
- Agents for Change: programme which invites pupils to have a say in the school meals provision from menu through to dining hall design.
- Carbon menu labelling: at secondary academy schools. Sodexo has partnered with Klimato to raise awareness amongst pupils and staff on the impact their food choices have on the planet through CO2 labelling.
- WasteWatch: Sodexo teams have been using the WasteWatch food waste reduction programme, powered by LeanPath at Oasis schools since April 2021. The amount of food waste reduced has helped prevent almost 80 metric tons of CO2. That is the equivalent to 20,847 meals saved.
John Barneby, chief operating officer of Oasis Community Learning, added: “We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with Sodexo. We believe that having access to good, healthy food is important to help our students learn.
“We have been impressed by Sodexo’s passion for delivering sustainable and nutritious school meal options and are confident that together we can continue to encourage the uptake of school meals whilst educating the next generation about how a change in behaviour or diet can have a positive impact on the planet.”