The Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation
Changing the way chefs and consumers think about food
When the idea of a nonprofit associated with Bon Appétit Management Company arose in 2005, our thinking was to create an entity apart from the business through which we could step back, research, and educate others about the underpinnings of our food system, providing a structure that would catalyze positive change.
Since its launch that year, the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation has become an invaluable source of practical information for Bon Appétit chefs, managers, clients, and guests: about what sustainability means for seafood choices, how the food system contributes to climate change (and how climate change affects the food system), and what steps we can take to uphold the rights of agricultural workers.
In its first year of operation, we used a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to host the Save Seafood Tour in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program. We made presentations to more than 1,000 Bon Appétit guests and 400 Bon Appétit kitchen staffers at 20 locations about seafood choices and their connection to maintaining healthy oceans. And also as part of what we called the Making Waves project, we encouraged other food companies to change their seafood buying practices and to be consistent with internationally recognized conservation standards. We’re proud to say that as a result of our work, a resolution was adopted by the board of our parent company, Compass Group, in November 2005 to phase in new purchasing standards for seafood. This change in purchasing practices affected more than 1 million pounds of seafood each year.
Subsequent activities:
- The Low Carbon Diet (2007) and Calculator (2008) – Connecting the food system to climate change
- The BAMCO Foundation Fellows Program (2009)
- The Student Garden Guide (2009)
- TEDxFruitvale: Harvesting Change (2011)
- Campus Farmers Network (2012)