Sodexho, the food service giant known for supplying hotel chains around the world, has recently gone native. Sodexho—which supplies breakfast and lunch for more than a dozen school districts in Rhode Island—will now purchase a larger percentage of its produce from local farms.

In conjunction with nonprofit group Kids First, Sodexho worked on this project for three years—making sure local farms met their certification needs and negotiating fair prices for produce.

This move seems to be a win-win-win for all concerned: Sodexho garners good publicity in the area; our kids receive more healthy food choices at school; and the use of local produce is a “greener” choice that adds to farmers’ bottom lines and saves ever-depleting global resources used in transporting food across the country.

What does this initiative bode for the local farm industry? Let's hope that this project encourages other global conglomerates to go local, opening the door to more long-term and lucrative opportunities for the Ocean State.