Will UK’s new dining partner source food locally? Companies are optimistic

The University of Kentucky’s new dining partner, Compass Group, said it plans to prioritize local businesses and farmers as it assume control of UK’s food service.

Food distributors who worked with the university for years under its previous dining partner, Aramark, are also optimistic their partnerships will continue after initial concerns that the new partner might not work with local businesses.

Lisa Claybon, a Compass Group spokesperson, told the Herald-Leader it’s committed to working with Kentucky farmers, producers and local suppliers. But she did not share who or what companies would be involved.

“We intend to continue purchasing from local partners already supporting UK while expanding opportunities to source Kentucky-grown and Kentucky-made products across our operations,” Claybon said. “Supporting local businesses and strengthening connections to Kentucky agriculture will remain an important focus of the partnership.”

Compass Group will meet with distributors and chefs next week to discuss continued work with them, according to workers at Clem’s Refrigerated Foods and What Chefs Want, who were two of the main Kentucky-based food distributors for UK and Aramark.

Steven Clem, vice president of sales and marketing at Clem’s Refrigerated Foods – a meat distributor in Lexington – said “what I’m hearing is they’re going to continue on with what they were doing, so we’ll see if that happens.”

Anna Haas, the Local Food Connection Program director for What Chefs Want – a wholesale food distributor in Louisville – said she’s unsure what to expect in the meetings, but she hopes to “have a better understanding” of UK’s transition from Aramark to Compass Group.

These companies previously got local goods from farmers and cattle ranchers, then distributed them to manufacturers including Custom Food Solutions – a Louisville food manufacturing facility that whipped up meals before they arrived at UK.

“The logistics portion is the hardest part to make it all work, which is why it hasn’t been a quick process,” Clem said. “We’ve kind of spent many years of accountability, just connecting dots.”

It took years of advocacy for Aramark to source its meat and produce locally, and define what’s actually considered local, according to Sarah Fritschner, who was at the forefront of that grassroot work, and until a few years ago worked for Custom Food Solutions.

“We figured that part out, and so over time there have been a lot of mistakes, not just on the part of the university or Aramark, but on part of the local advocates,” she said. “I mean, we’ve all been working at this for a while, and to have Compass and UK not put it in the contract would be devastating.”

If Compass Group decides not to keep UK’s partnerships with local companies, it would revert years of progress for Kentucky’s agriculture and small businesses, Fritschner warned.

“UK is kind of a ground zero for orders,” Fritschner said. “That’s another reason why Kentucky agriculture needs UK to be committed contractually to buy local.”

Aramark not only grew its local clientele, but also helped develop an initiative called The Food Connection, which trains small farmers and businesses to serve bulk orders to large customers like UK, Fritschner said.

“They have this extension agent that teaches produce growers how to grow food and harvest food in a way that meets the safety standards required by the big produce dealers,” she said.

It also supports Kentucky agricultural research, and is incorporated into a freshman course that teaches students about local food and cooking, according to Carmen Agouridis, senior associate dean of instruction at UK’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

“They do pretty amazing things,” Agouridis said. “They do a lot of teaching and education.”

The Food Connection will still exist with Compass Group, according to Lindsay Travis, a university spokesperson.

The university chose Compass Group in May as its enterprise services partner, which will manage dining, maintenance, grounds, custodial, in-patient sitters and in-patient transport workers.

The university signed a letter of intent to work with Compass Group, the largest food and services company in the United States. A contract is expected to be finalized between the company and UK by July 1. The university ended its contract a few years early with Amarark.

The new partnership is expected to “improve coordination and long‑term planning across UK, UK HealthCare, UK King’s Daughters and UK St. Claire,” a university press release said on May 14.