Our Community

Our community is where our associates, customers, and clients live. We connect with our community by seeking opportunities to innovate within the marketplace, partner with our clients and make an impact in the communities that we serve, enabling them to thrive.

One of the many ways that Compass Group is able to impact the community is through our commitment to continually grow our supplier diversity program.

Supplier Diversity

Our supplier diversity team seeks to identify certified Woman & Minority Owned Business Enterprises (W/MBEs), for inclusion in Compass Group’s sourcing opportunities. Having a well-rounded supplier base helps Compass Group better anticipate the needs of the people we serve, and enables us to provide products and services that are specialized, competitively priced, and innovative.

Foodbuy

As the largest foodservice and hospitality procurement organization in North America, Foodbuy is the sole sourcing partner for our parent company, Compass Group USA.

Driven by best-in-class sourcing strategies, our tremendous purchasing volume provides a great opportunity to support a strong supplier diversity program. Guided by a commitment to safety, Foodbuy partners with our approved suppliers to ensure the products and services we source meet the highest approved quality standards and our broad distribution needs.

The Foodbuy team is dedicated to:

• Growing the number of diverse suppliers in our supplier pool and maximizing the utilization of their goods and services throughout the business.
• Enabling supplier partners to work together to leverage their combined resources for greater business opportunities and expansion.
• Educating diverse suppliers on the business requirements to obtain certification for becoming an approved Compass Group vendor
• Ensuring equitable consideration for diverse suppliers in the  qualification, proposal, and contracting process.
• Providing Foodbuy customers with access to our diverse supplier base to meet their unique business needs.

Diverse Supplier Accelerator Program

In an effort to accelerate the growth and utilization of Women & Minority Owned Business Enterprises (W/MBEs), Foodbuy recently launched the Diverse Supplier Accelerator Program. This comprehensive 12-month program provides selected suppliers with one-on-one coaching and training through formal mentee relationships, and the opportunity to collaborate on plans that mutually grow our business.

Suppliers selected to participate in the accelerator program benefit from:

• One-on-one coaching and partnership with an industry leader
• A comprehensive review of Compass Group sectors and operations
• Insights into the Foodbuy business model and best practices
• Development of strategic plans that accelerate business growth
• Admission into Foodbuy special events
• In-depth training sessions

The accelerator gave us the opportunity to identify the right people, present to them, send samples and partner with them. It enabled us to launch nationally within Morrison. For a big company to do this, it means a lot to companies like ours, but it also stimulates the economy because it allows us to hire more people. That’s what this country needs.

– Rip Pruisken,

Co-CEO of Rip Van Wafels

Thompson Hospitality

As the largest minority-owned restaurant, foodservice, facilities management and hospitality company in the country, Thompson Hospitality has had a strategic alliance with Compass Group since 1997. Together, we serve urban school districts, major hospital centers and business and industry accounts, including more than 30 of the Fortune 100 companies. Thompson Hospitality has, on a solo basis, developed a specialty niche in providing foodservice too many of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Our partnership starts with a total dedication to achieving excellence and ends with total customer satisfaction. Our high standards, efficient systems, and creative concepts help deliver a top-quality dining experience. With Thompson’s unique understanding of the tastes and preferences of its customers and communities, our companies share a solid track record, a successful operating history, and the ability to handle a wide variety of foodservice needs.

“When our companies came together more than 20 years ago, we never imagined that our partnership would prove so successful. Today, we operate more than $1.8B in business together, and our partnership’s future looks even brighter. We are all looking forward to the next twenty!”

– Warren M. Thompson,
President and Chairman

FoodWorks

FoodWorks is an onsite dining platform that creates community through food by partnering with the best local restaurants and showcasing them in client operations to build connections with authentic, ethnic experiences where diversity is baked into the culture. Together, we can support small businesses and help extend their reach. Approximately a third of FoodWorks restaurant partners are minority-owned, a fourth are women-owned, and 100% are local.

Learn more at Foodworks.org

Local is Better for All

Local produce is always our chefs’ first choice. We source ingredients from local and regional sources to support small and mid-sized American family farms and the communities we live in and serve. Compass Group purchased more than 46 million pounds of produce from local partners in the FY2020, which is 21% of the total produce purchased. 

Buying local has been a critical part of Compass Group’s purchasing philosophy for years. We are proud to support the communities where we live, work and operate our businesses. Now we are expanding our network of local suppliers to include a pilot program that focuses on the onboarding of BIPOC (Black/Indigenous/People of Color) farmers in North Carolina to bring more of their produce into Compass accounts.

Food Recovery Donations

Together, with our clients, Compass Group donated more than 1.3 million meals to local communities in 2020. An estimated 1 in 9 Americans is food insecure, equating to over 37 million individuals. In the instance that overproduction does occur, Compass Group is proud to have partners in cities across the country to ensure good food gets into the hands of those who need it. We believe donating is the right thing to do and can positively impact the health of our communities.

For example, we partner with Goodr, a minority and woman-owned, sustainable food waste management company that leverages technology to reduce food waste and combat hunger. Goodr provides an end-to-end solution for businesses to help save money, feed more, and waste less through the donation of edible food.

Navigate

2020 really shed light on the disparities among communities with fewer advantages, as well as the industries served by and for such groups, especially food service and hospitality. The intersection of health, economic and social crises has amplified the need for change that unifies, rather than divides.

The youth of these communities have suffered greatly, too, having fewer opportunities for upward mobility, thus perpetuating the legacy of poverty for those on the margins of society. As a global leader in the food and support service industry, Compass Group USA has the unique opportunity and ability to create change with a lasting, positive impact in the lives of our current and future associates and the communities we serve. From this unprecedented time, and in connection with our partners Thompson Hospitality, we have the chance to set new best-in-class recruitment standards using our global strength to continue the development of a national internship program aimed at helping disadvantaged youth.

Best Buddies

Compass Group’s partnership with Best Buddies continues to be invaluable. Best Buddies International is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Through the Jobs program, we have placed dozens of associates across the business. Their integrated approach focuses on developing true partnership by providing ongoing support for the associate and manager.

3 Dozen

Placements Across

6 States

and counting

External Recognition