“UW Oshkosh students discussed concerns about current Sodexo Inc. food options and high prices with a lack of healthy alternatives.

UWO wrestler David Jackstadt said he avoids unhealthy eating choices by eating a sandwich from Reeve Memorial Union every day.

“I would like to see more readily available healthy options,” Jackstadt said. “I want to be able to mix it up.”

UWO student Jordan Konkol said he routinely has soup and a sandwich each day in order to avoid unhealthy food options.

“They need healthy, good food where you aren’t taking in so many calories at once,” Konkol said.

UWO freshman Sydney Langmann said the change in food options from 2014 to 2015 thus far has lacked.

“All I’ve seen is an added menu at the entrance showing us the healthier options,” Langmann said. “I wish there was more fresh fruit, but I know it’s difficult to provide because it is a college campus.”

Sodexo Inc. is the North American division of the Sodexo Group, a Paris-based contract management company. They provide many forms of social services to businesses, institutions and public entities.

According to Food Management, an independent agent, Sodexo Inc. makes close to $23 billion in total revenue with 39 percent from the United States. Sodexo Inc. makes about $8.9 billion in the United States alone.

“It is really disheartening knowing how much they make because we don’t get that much out of it, especially knowing we have student workers, but I’m sure they don’t get paid as much as their adult counterparts,” Langmann said.

With Sodexo as a contracted food vender in universities such as UWO, a part of that profit comes from college students’ pockets.

“I personally think prices are too high because I went home last weekend and saw you can get a bunch of bananas for $0.69 per pound while here one is $1.09 and this is college,” Langmann said. “They should be an advocate.”

“When you get a salad, you can’t even get a drink without going over [$6 which equals one meal],” Konkol said. “I mean, it is salad. Lettuce is not that expensive.”
Food Management also described new education contracts with universities such as Brandeis University, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Emerson College and Bayonne (NJ) SD.

According to the Huffington Post, Sodexo Inc. is the first major food provider, besides large restaurant chains, to work toward making healthier food widely available.

The Huffington Post also stated that Sodexo would be working with the nonprofit organization Partnership for a Healthier America to meet its goals.

The Partnership for a Healthier America was created in conjunction with Michelle Obama’s healthy foods initiative, Let’s Move!, and works with businesses to hold them accountable for the commitments they make to improve the health of Americans.

Sodexo Inc. promised healthier food options to its vending and K12 lunchroom programs.

Sodexo Inc. is the North American division of the Sodexo Group, a Paris-based contract management company. They provide many forms of social services to businesses, institutions and public entities.

According to the Sodexo Inc. website, they are the world’s largest quality of life services company.

Sodexo Inc. serves 34,000 sites, representing 120 nationalities, with 380,000 employees and representing 80 countries.

PR Watch recently released an article titled “Outsourcing America: Sodexo Food Service Contractor Siphons Cash from Kids and Soldiers while Dishing Up Subprime Food.” The article outlined problem areas of Sodexo.

According to the PR Watch article published in 2013, Sodexo, Inc. is an example of how states that are low on money, outsource in order to get services cheaper.

It is also stated that this may not be the case, for the services provided are not of the same quality.

In 2007, Sodexo Inc. was contracted to provide food to all Marine Corp. mess halls when the USDA had to recall 3,000 pounds of chicken suspected of contracting Listeria bacteria.

Since the privatization of food service like Sodexo Inc. there has been a whole host of problems PR Watch said.

“Just let me eat what I want,” Langmann said.”