Sodexo's Mark Davidson has been recognised as a Catering Mark Champion at the Soil Association Food for Life Catering Mark Awards.

The awards, which took place at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London earlier this month, celebrate the determination and passion of individuals who have worked with the Soil Association to promote the Catering Mark in their organisations. The Catering Mark is open to all food providers and, awarded at three levels (bronze, silver and gold), it recognises caterers who are taking steps to improve their food, by meeting standards on freshness, sustainability and animal welfare.

Mark, who works as Sodexo’s food production manager at Southampton Solent University (SSU), was named as Champion in the ‘Universities’ category. Mark has been instrumental in implementing the Catering Mark certification on campus; two salad bars at SSU have achieved bronze and two traditional restaurants under the ‘Bowl’ brand have achieved silver.

Mark has also shared his expertise with other Sodexo university sites who are working towards Catering Mark certification. He has been praised by his managers for his quiet dedication towards meeting the Catering Mark targets, looking at purchasing streams, reviewing food offers, managing financial risks and training others.

He commented; “The Catering Mark gives a strong message to our consumers about the quality of the food on offer and definitely helps build trust. It’s a great honour to receive the award and testament to the hard work of the team at Southampton Solent. We aren’t going to rest on our laurels though; this year we are working towards gold!”

Rich Watts, senior Catering Mark manager said; “The quality of entries from across the UK was high and a wonderful insight into the positive changes to food made by Catering Mark holders every day. From chefs to managers to buyers, the passion and dedication to improving the quality of food served outside of the home was clear. It takes real commitment to achieve change and the Catering Mark Awards are a wonderful celebration to recognise the people and the hard work behind making these changes possible.”

Sodexo and Southampton Solent University have been champions of promoting innovative food choices on campus for a number of years with health and wellbeing at the core of their mission. Earlier this year they launched the ‘Natural’ bar, a healthy eating concept with a choice of over 30 salad items and a wide range of healthy vegetable juices, fresh soups, fruit teas, rice cakes and gluten-free snacks. The team also received a commendation in the 2014 ‘FreeFrom Eating Out Awards.

Sodexo has a strong record of achieving the Catering Mark accreditation in its university contracts. Earlier this year UCL achieved silver, and both Bradford University and Greenwich University have been awarded bronze.

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