Students at the University of Vermont in Burlington have been protesting the Sodexo catering company for months. The students started an Instagram page named sodexogottogo and posted every Friday under a “F*ck Sodexo Fridays” campaign. Their page is a call to action for students to work together to end the contract renewal between Sodexo and UVM.
Sodexo has worked with UVM for 60 years. Sodexo became the primary dining service of Vermont State Colleges System in 2012, the contract previously belonging to Anarmark. They also provide dining for NVU-Lyndon, every VSCS campus, and about 600 universities nationwide.
However, Sodexo is a massive multinational catering company that brings in income from various services and branches. One of these branches, Sodexo Justice, has come under fire for its practices within the private prison industry.
Sodexo Justice has worked with 84 prisons in multiple countries and operates five prisons independently in the United Kingdom. One of those prisons, HMP Bronzefield, has repeated allegations of inhumane conditions for prisoners. Chief inspector of prisons Nick Hardwick described the prison’s actions as “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.” A few of the recent incidents at prisons Sodexo manages include forcing an 18-year-old to give birth alone in a cell, resulting in the death of her child; leaving a woman in solitary for five years; cramming multiple inmates into single-occupancy cells; guards videotaping prisoners naked; and illegal, unwarranted strip searches. Sodexo’s prisons have come under criticism for having staff who are poorly trained and how, in order to profit, the company cut costs. It is a company that has continually put profit above human lives.
Sodexo used to own a 20% share in CoreCivic Inc., formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, the largest private prison corporation in the United States. CoreCivic Inc. has a track record of committing human rights violations because of its poor management of prisons. In 2001, there were many protests from students at American universities and several colleges pulled their contracts with Sodexo. As a result, Sodexo sold its shares and ended its involvement in major private prisons in the United States. However, as of 2022, it is still working for and managing private prisons in other countries.
It is a fair point to argue that the actions of Sodexo Justice shouldn’t fully inform your opinion of the main Sodexo company and its foodservice business. However, their malpractices don’t end at the prison management level.
According to a Humans Rights Watch report, Sodexo has engaged in several anti-union actions, such as firing union supporters and intimidating union workers. A TransAfrica report detailed the mistreatment of Sodexo workers in several countries. There were reports of workers eating in racially segregated canteens in Guinea. Sodexo made employees take a pregnancy test to renew their employment contracts in Columbia. They have had several disputes over instances of underpaying employees. In Louisiana, a worker was paid $7.42 an hour after 40 years. In Guinea, miners employed by Sodexo make the equivalent of $72 a month.
If UVM students successfully remove Sodexo, it begs the question, are there alternatives that can provide the same level of service without the same history? The answer, simply put, is yes. This is an issue of whether we should value convenience and money over ethics. Students at UVM say they don’t want their money to continue to go to Sodexo because of their actions, but where does that leave the other 599 universities Sodexo serves, including the Vermont State College System?
It is easy to become apathetic on issues like this one. Companies like Walmart and Amazon have long corporate rap sheets for unethical practices, but most of America still relies on them for the things they need. As a consumer, it is a challenging position to be in because you aren’t the one union-busting, but your dollars indirectly go towards those who are. Especially for students who might feel it is out of their power to make a change, but remember, in 2001, the student outcry got Sodexo to leave the U.S private prison business. Perhaps it is once again time for students to demand better of the companies serving their food.
Feature Photo by Carter Lee Toro || Front of Steven’s Dining Hall, NVU-Lyndon’s main dining area managed by Sodexo.