Sustainability
COVID-19 Policies
Your safety is our top priority here at Norwich Dining Services. We are closely monitoring COVID-19 guidelines directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, federal, state and local officials to make sure we are bringing you the most up-to-date information as we continue to navigate through the pandemic. Our team has worked diligently to implement robust policies and procedures aimed at keeping the entire Norwich University Community safe while on campus and in our dining locations. For information on everything we are doing, please click through the areas of focus below.
Vermont First
Vermont First is Sodexo’s commitment to the State of Vermont, our business partners, and the communities in which we live and work to support Vermont’s local economy. Through strategic purchasing and collaboration with stakeholders, Vermont First aims to grow market opportunity for local producers, stimulate job growth, and ensure the viability of Vermont’s working lands.
Local Suppliers
Composting
Food waste in landfills creates methane, a greenhouse gas which is 21x more potent than CO2. (www.epa.gov) Our first priority is to reduce food waste. We compost food waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also be enhance and amend soil health by improving soil structure, enhancing micro-organism content, increasing drought tolerance and reducing need for water and fertilizers. We collect pre and post-consumer food waste to create compost to be used across campus. Look for ways to get involved in these initiatives.
Xpress Nap
Xpress Nap Dispensers save energy and waste. Not only are the napkins are made of 100% recycled paper, the dispensers 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.
APEX
APEX combines technology and products designed to save water and energy, minimize the impact of chemical products on the environment, and measures our efficiency. The APEX management approach uses a tablet PC and wireless technology to communicate with the system’s controller to download, process and analyze data to establish each food service operation’s “rack-to-guest ratio.” By monitoring and improving this ratio, the system helps reduce the amount of water and energy used at each facility, and improve total operational efficiency.
Vegan
We were rated a B by peta2 for the quality of service at our Vegan offering daily menu variety throughout the academic year.