An interview with Becky Macheda, the General Manager of Campus Dining Services, provided information about Denison's contract with Sodexho, the University's food services provider. She stated that once Sodexho is contracted, they are responsible for hiring all food personnel, including managers and staff, as well as deciding menus, ordering food from vendors, cooking the food, and assuring that the dining process runs smoothly for students.

Denison's contract with Sodexho dates back forty one years. According to Seth Patton, the Vice President for Finance and Management at Denison, Dining Service's annual budget is $4.3 million. Sodexho receives $3.5 million for management and food, while the rest is used for maintenance and utilities. Of this annual budget, Ms. Macheda reported that approximately $1.54 million, of Sodexho’s payment from Denison is used for purchasing food.

Although local and organic food products can be more of an expense, their benefits are still significant. Local food requires less transportation, and lighter packaging, resulting in fewer carbon emissions because of the long range transportation and extensive packaging with plastics and Styrofoam that are necessitated by conventional foods. In addition, locally produced foods support the local economy and contribute to local business. Purchasing organic food options means buying foods that have not been exposed to pesticides and insecticides which can be harmful to human health. It also ensures that genetically modified organisms have not been used in food production, and that animal mistreatment or cruelty has not been used in the production of organic meats and dairy products. Unfortunately there are currently no Sodexho-approved vendors that offer organic meat options, however, if pressure is applied and Sodexho is encouraged to look for and add organic meat vendors to their approved list, local and organic meats and dairy products can be served as a healthier and more humane alternative than products of conventional methods.

Benefits of Local Food:

• Requires less transportation and therefore less fossil fuel and less carbon emissions.

• Requires less packaging and less use of petroleum products for the production of plastics and Styrofoam.

• Supports local economy.

Benefits of Organic Food:

• No use of pesticides & insecticides; better for human health and the environment.

• No genetically modified organisms.

• No animal mistreatment or cruelty.

In Huffman and Curtis Dining Halls, the process for menu selection is pre-determined by the managers, and food is purchased on a weekly basis according to that week's menu. All purchases must be made from a list of about 20 Sodexho-approved vendors. This list includes food prices and it indicates which are local and/or organic. Pressure from students a few years ago led Dining Services to begin purchasing only organic milk. Although this can cost up to three or four times as much student demand caused the change in purchasing. According to Ms. Macheda, Dining Services purchases as much local and/or organic food as can be allowed in the budget. Common local and/or organic foods in the dining halls include lettuce and a variety of fruits.

One common question for Dining Services is why local and organic foods are not labeled. An interview with Ms. Macheda, Chair of Dining Services, stated that the Sodexho staff does not think that it is honest to label local and organic purchases that are not 100% locally grown or organic. Vendors do not have an abundance of local or organic food available, so Dining Services purchases what they have available and then purchases the rest in conventional foods. Frequently, foods like lettuce and fruits are a mixture of local and organic products and conventional products. Ms. Macheda also explained that, for this reason, local and organic foods are not labeled in the dining halls since Sodexho employees believe it would be misleading to label products that are not 100% local or organic.

A student survey conducted this semester included questions regarding student's attitudes towards local and organic foods. One question asked about student knowledge of the differences between local, organic, and conventional foods. These results concluded that:

• A majority of students were aware of the differences between the local and organic foods.

In addition, students were asked how important they felt it was to have local foods in the dining halls, their responses showed the following:

• A majority of students felt it was moderately to very important to have local foods in the dining halls 

• A majority of students feel that it is also moderately to very important that organic foods be served in the dining halls.

• In general, students support increasing local and organic foods in the dining halls.