Saint Mary’s Announces Dining Services Partnership with The Good Eating Company

Beginning with the fall 2022 semester, Saint Mary’s College (SMC) has contracted with The Good Eating Company in an agreement to provide dining services to the campus community.

With this agreement, Saint Mary’s students, faculty, and staff can expect to see a number of exciting culinary changes. The Good Eating Company relies on a chef-driven approach that includes local sourcing and a clear commitment to sustainable practices. These practices will be reflected in all aspects of the Saint Mary’s food service experience. 

“We are thrilled to welcome The Good Eating Company as the newest member of our Saint Mary’s community,” said Saint Mary’s President Richard Plumb. “Whether you are enjoying lunch in Oliver Hall, grabbing coffee, or visiting the 1928 Pub with friends or colleagues, we want to ensure that everyone in our entire campus community is receiving the highest quality food and a great dining experience at all times. The Good Eating Company has shown incredible enthusiasm for improving the culinary experience here at Saint Mary’s and I can’t wait to see these changes this fall.”

“I love leading the fantastic team at the Good Eating Company in the US, as we are fully committed to partnering with the communities we serve,” said GEC Managing Director Don King. “We are changing the world by being a food-first company rooted in our belief in incredible food, growing our Makers, and improving the environment.”

The Good Eating Company will bring a farm-to-fork mindset to dining services at Saint Mary’s. Led by Senior Culinary Director Melody Miranda and Western Culinary Director Amy Lee, GEC uses locally sourced, seasonal ingredients to drive its menus. This approach will provide Saint Mary’s students, faculty, and staff with diverse offerings that change regularly. For example, in Oliver Hall, Chef’s Table offerings will highlight authentic flavors and ingredients from around the world while the Clean Plate station will focus on allergen-friendly ingredients. The 1928 Pub will incorporate uplifted pub fare with beer and wine pairings. The Cafe fare will feature local coffee roasters and house-made grab & go offerings.

“At Good Eating Company, making our customers happy and healthy with our food is the number one priority,” Lee said. “Partnering and fostering relationships with local farms and suppliers sustains our culture and respect for where our food comes from, and we aim to regenerate the environment with these practices.”

Sustainability represents a primary focus for The Good Eating Company, and with its inclusion in Saint Mary’s strategic plan, serves as a shared goal between GEC and the College. GEC is developing a customized sustainability plan for Saint Mary’s that will include a dedicated sustainability resource, participation in the campus sustainability committee, and an increased partnership with the Legacy Garden as well as other academic and extracurricular education around food systems change and food justice. 

The company’s Leanpath program will work towards a 50 percent reduction in food waste by 2025, and GEC will also utilize locally grown foods from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers using regenerative agriculture practices as well as rotating local and diverse coffee roasters into the campus food program. 

Founded in London in 1999, The Good Eating Company services companies and organizations, including several in the legacy tech sector, in four countries. Acquired by Sodexo in 2017, The Good Eating Company is a chef-driven, independently operated affiliate. Saint Mary’s represents Good Eating Company’s first agreement with a higher ed institution.

The agreement between Good Eating Company and Saint Mary’s took effect on July 1, 2022, and the College community can expect to see changes continue to take place as the fall semester gets underway. More details on new food offerings and other changes to SMC food services will be shared at the start of the fall semester.