Compass Group champions local food (Charlotte)

Enlarge Image

One of the world’s largest food-service companies quietly runs its North American operation from an office park in southwest Charlotte, N.C.

Compass Group is not as widely known as other Charlotte companies such as Bank of America Corp. or Duke Energy Corp. But within the arena of food service, the company’s influence is as powerful as its counterparts in banking and energy.

In recent years, Compass increasingly has used that leverage to promote sustainability in food sourcing. Its corporate muscle is benefiting customers in the form of healthy foods, and is also supporting local farmers, migrant workers and animal welfare.

The use of foodstuffs produced on nearby farms also reduces greenhouse-gas emissions — trucks consume less fuel and release less pollution.

“That what’s so exciting about working with Compass,” says Nancy Creamer, director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems at N.C. State University in Raleigh. “They do have that capacity to change this industry because of their buying power.”

After all, Compass ranked 407th in the Fortune 500 in 2009, second only to McDonald’s Corp. (No. 388) among food-service companies. Charlotte’s Compass Group North America generated $9.2 billion in revenue last year. Its parent, United Kingdom-based Compass Group plc, has about 386,000 employees around the globe.

Compass has more than 10,000 accounts in the United States, including corporate offices, hospitals and schools. Its catering can be found in the dining hall at Queens University of Charlotte and in museum cafes in Manhattan. Its operating companies and brands include Chartwells, Restaurant Associates, Canteen Vending Services and Bon Appétit Management Co., which has a regional office in Portland.

While Compass has sourced some of its food locally for more than a decade, it has recently strengthened its pledge under a partnership with Center for Environmental Farming Systems through the “10% Campaign.”

The pitch is simple: North Carolinians spent about $35 billion on food in 2009 from grocery stores or restaurants. If 10 percent of that were dedicated to food grown locally, the demand would pump $3.5 billion into the state’s farming economy.

Read the full story in the Charlotte Business Journal.