The availability of healthy and nutritious food is more important than ever. When providing food service, Sodexo is expected to ensure that the meals they provide for children, college students, and the general public are wholesome, well-balanced and nutritious. However, Sodexo has a failed record of providing healthy food that's made with quality ingredients.

For 20 million children who receive free or reduced-price lunches at school, Sodexo's food often ends up being their main source of daily food and nutrition. While it's especially important for these children to receive high-quality of food, this often ends up not being the case.

Inability to Provide Hot Meals

At the Recovery School District, in New Orleans (LA), an August 2007 article in The American Prospect critical of privatization in the school system post-Katrina mentions Sodexo's inability to provide hot meals.

According to complaints at a teacher's advisory meeting in New Orleans, menu items were repeatedly not being served, required components, including milk, were not being served, and students in all grades were being served the same portions.

Small Portions, Lack of Staff

In Springfield (MA), shortly after Sodexo won the contract, parents complained to city officials that schools were running out of food, portion sizes were small, and there were not enough cafeteria staff to get the job done.

Uncooked Food, Poor Management

In Fairhaven (MA), elementary students boycotted the Sodexo-prepared lunch, complaining of cold and uncooked food and sour milk. Sodexo chose to walk away in the third year of the troubled contract after the district sent a letter informing the company they might not renew.

In Rio Rancho (NM), parents complained that wait times at Mountain View Middle and Rio Rancho High schools were too long, leaving students little time to eat.

Concerns Over Healthy Meals

In South Pasadena (CA), Sodexo lost the contract in 2007 because of dissatisfaction expressed over the years by community members--mostly students' parents--who wanted healthier meals. The district decided to create its own nutrition program and run it in-house.

Pre-packaged, Processed Foods

The Martinez News-Gazette examined the menus Sodexo provides for the Martinez Unified School District (CA) and came up with the following damning determination: "School district has a food services contract with a multinational company that procures products from agribusiness, offers packaged foods and very few healthy choices."

Local parent and active PTA member Katherine Hern was quoted saying, "I don't use [the breakfast and lunch program for my two children], it's all pre-packaged, processed food you would find in the freezer section, and I avoid those foods in my own home."