Beyond Nutrition: A Landscape Analysis Of Values-Based Procurement Among Food Service Management Companies

Public awareness of the positive and negative externalities of the food supply chain have led consumers to shift their food purchases to align with their values, yet this decision-making process can be rendered ineffectual by food service management companies, which are estimated to control around 60% of the $72 billion food service market in North America. This landscape analysis used publicly available company websites to assess values-based procurement by Food Management’s Top 50 Contract Management Companies of 2018 using four values from the Good Food Purchasing Program: local economies, environmental sustainability, animal rights, and valued workforce. Owing largely to the Global Animal Partnership’s broiler chicken policy, animal welfare had a relatively high frequency of strong commitments, illustrating the power of easily adoptable certifications or standards. Local economies and environmental sustainability were frequently mentioned but not quantified, and valued workforce was mentioned the least often. Rather than making a commitment across all clients, companies appeared more likely to tailor their offerings to specific client interests, indicating an opportunity for consumers to create demand for values-based procurement.