
Today is National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day. In most cultures, learning to cook from your parents is a natural part of growing up. It may be connected to a holiday or religious tradition or simply a weekly dinner for a big family with deep ties to its heritage. But for many of us, that tradition sadly takes a back seat to the rigors of our daily existence. Cooking with the kids would be nice, but on a busy school night, dinner is just another chore to check off the list. (more…)

Quality of Life Research,
Sodexo Universities
Data analytics has changed the way we view operations, performance, and student outcomes. As Southern New Hampshire University President Paul L. LeBlanc, mentions in the latest chapter of President to President, “Engineering a 21st Century Higher Educational Model: Guidelines for Leading the Work,” understanding data can be an important step in meeting the needs and expectations of today’s students. Through Sodexo’s interactions with students, educators, and campus administrators, we have seen firsthand how analytics can change the way an institution operates. Taking this idea a step further, data analytics can enable us to design experiences in a way that will have a meaningful impact on student outcomes. (more…)

Schools, Sodexo North America
With over 30 million students eating at least one meal at school each day, schools not only offer an opportunity for children to enjoy nourishing food but also a chance to learn healthy eating habits and important social skills. Meals served through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program are required to be healthy and nutritious, and they got even healthier in 2012 when new guidelines were implemented as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, requiring cafeterias limit calories, sodium and unhealthy fats, and offer more whole grains, fruits and vegetables in every meal. (more…)

Schools, Sodexo North America
Every year, about 13 percent of the nation’s 3.4 million teachers transfer to different schools or leave the profession altogether, according to the Alliance for Excellence in Education in collaboration with the New Teacher Center. It’s estimated that over 1 million teachers move in and out of schools annually, with 40 to 50 percent of teachers quitting within five years.
This issue doesn’t just impact schools, it impacts the entire community, including parents, local companies, and other stakeholder groups. Teacher attrition costs state governments between $1 billion and $2.2 billion annually. (more…)