LUNCH + LEARN: THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD

Bon Appétit Management Company serves over 200 million meals a year, and has dozens of specific, science based policies behind its tagline "food service for a sustainable future." Join the MIT Food + Ag club and Nicole Tocco Cardwell, Manager of Strategic Initiatives for Bon Appétit, for a behind-the-scenes conversation about how one food service company goes about making change happen. Get some insight into the creation and implementation of policies addressing everything from farmworkers rights and animal welfare issues, to supporting local food sheds and fighting climate change.

Nicole Tocco Cardwell works on social, environmental and transparency related issues for Bon Appétit Management Company, the from scratch on-site restaurant company offering full food-service management to corporations, universities, museums and specialty venues. In her role, Nicole does research to inform and implement Bon Appétit's groundbreaking social and environmental commitments, most recently spearheading development of the company's Low Carbon Lifestyle program, waste prevention and reduction programs, and support of farmworkers' rights through the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI). Nicole oversees Bon Appétit's Fellows program and the waste programs, helping her team raise awareness about social and environmental issues related to the food we eat, engage with college students about how to participate in systems change throughout the food industry, and make sure that in Bon Appétit kitchens and cafes, landfills are their last resort. Nicole has a Bachelor of Business Administration from UMass Amherst and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University. Before joining Bon Appétit in 2011, Nicole worked for the international conservation organization Rainforest Alliance, and did projects with the Massachusetts Farm to School Project, World Wildlife Fund and Union of Concerned Scientists.

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