Residents in the Grove community will have a regular delivery of prepared food starting soon thanks to a new partnership between Grove Christian Outreach Center and ARAMARK, the company that runs William and Mary’s on-campus dining.
The college’s dining operations folks decided that they could put their cooked leftovers to good use, according to Director of Food Operations Larry Smith. Dining services will package up and freeze unused, cooked food that will be distributed to needy residents in the Grove community of James City County through the Grove Christian Outreach Center each week.
“We are a test program [for ARAMARK], and we are excited,” he said. “I think it’s a good program, and now we know that our waste goes to a good use.”
Reaching 22 countries, ARAMARK has a company-wide Social Responsibility program that focuses on employee advocacy, environmental stewardship, health/wellness and community involvement. “Each day we work hard to continuously improve our corporate responsibility efforts,” according to the company website.
Smith said the program has been in the planning stages for a little while, as the local group needed to get the green light from its corporate office and from the Department of Health.
He’s not sure how much food the program will collect, and he said the amount will fluctuate based on the season and what events might be on the horizon (ARAMARK offers a catering service for local events).
Grove Christian Outreach Center (GCOC) is coordinating the pick-up of the donated food, according to an email from Assistant Director Deena Walls, and is in the process of getting volunteers to run this service.
“We are so excited about a new partnership with William & Mary and their food service program where we will be receiving food product from their facility on a weekly basis throughout the year,” Walls said.
