Sodexo Calls for Reduction in Food Waste for Earth Day

College campus events on April 22, Earth Day Will Weigh Waste to Raise
Awareness of Impact; 96 billion pounds of waste that costs $1 billion for
disposal yearly

GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Next time you're cleaning out your
fridge, consider this: Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food
they prepare, impacting the economy and the environment. Food waste is the
single-largest component of the waste stream -- each year, 96 billion pounds
of food are tossed out. The US spends about $1 billion a year to dispose of
food waste.

Sodexo is raising awareness of this huge problem, with events on campuses from
coast to coast this Earth Day, April 22. At several campuses, students will
weigh the food they discard after each meal. These Weigh the Waste initiatives
could reduce food waste on a campus by as much as 30 percent simply by making
the students more aware of what they serve themselves verses what they
actually eat.

Sodexo, a leading foodservice provider to 600 campuses in the United States
and Canada, sees a vast opportunity to reduce the environmental impact caused
by food waste and to call attention to the fact that one person's waste could
be another person's treasure.

"Right now, more than 35 million Americans are going hungry every day -- this
makes it even more important to be careful about what we eat -- not only for
the environnment and the economy, but to show respect for food and nutrition,"
said Tom Post, president of Sodexo Campus Services.

On Earth Day 2008, 300 Sodexo-served campuses stopped using trays in
cafeterias to reduce food, water, energy and chemical waste. Sodexo studies
show that when students stop using trays, food waste is reduced by 30 percent
or more.

Campuses participating in Weigh the Waste this Earth Day include: Drexel
University in Philadelphia, Fordham University in New York, Gonzaga University
in Spokane, University of Denver, Howard University in DC, and Savannah
College of Art and Design in Georgia and Hobart and William Smith in Geneva,
N.Y.

These programs are part of Sodexo's ongoing commitment to reduce waste,
conserve water, provide locally grownand sourced foods and materials and to
engage in green cleaning practices in all food service and facilities
management client sites globally.

Sodexo, Inc.
Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com) is a leading integrated facilities management
services company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with $7.7 billion (USD) in
annual revenue and 120,000 employees. Sodexo serves more than ten million
customers daily in corporations, health care, long term care and retirement
centers, schools, college campuses, government, and remote sites. Sodexo,
Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., is a member of Sodexo Group, and
funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation
(www.sodexofoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since
its founding in 1999, has made more than $11 million in grants to fight hunger
in America.

SOURCE Sodexo, Inc.

Monica Zimmer of Sodexo, Inc., +1-301-987-4461, monica.zimmer@sodexo.com