As Gen Z Battles for Better Mental Health, Sodexo Answers with New Efforts to Drive Belonging on Campuses

BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While Gen Z students report some of the poorest mental health in a generation, Sodexo Campus is making a difference in addressing this concern by focusing on food as the key to engaging students and building communities where they can thrive.

Sodexo Campus’ strategy is informed by its global insights team, its proprietary college research group of college students, ‘The Quad Squad’, and their long-time body of research, the Sodexo Student Lifestyle Survey. In the 2024-2025 survey, 50% of GenZ students reported an increase in feeling overwhelmed and anxious, and 87% of students seek out a friendly atmosphere where they feel they belong. Those same students rated dining as the #1 way to engage with others on campus.

“We know that campus dining is the top way students seek engagement on campus, and few members of the campus community – professors, administrators, even RAs – see a student as frequently as the team in the dining hall,” said Drew Nannis, CMO for Sodexo Campus. “This gives campus dining programs like ours a unique and critical role to play. Through continued commitments to sustainability, leveraging student feedback, and evolving our food models and tech solutions, we’re creating culturally relevant, convenient, and meaningful experiences for students.”

This year, Sodexo Campus’ roadmap will focus on creating meaningful moments of belonging by meeting students where they are, with what they need, in the following ways:

• Uplifting, Every Day: Sodexo will continue to focus on crafting food— and dining environments—that nourish and support both body and mind with meals that are thoughtfully sourced and passionately prepared. Built environments will provide varied experiences students are looking for, from quiet reading spaces to comfortable collaboration areas.

• Service with Heart: Sodexo’s award-winning customer service programs train staff to be mindful of those students at risk for isolation and help ensure every interaction is infused with care so that each student feels included and respected.

• Moments That Connect: Sodexo’s amplified focus on meaningful food experiences empowers students to build strong connections with peers, faculty, and the greater community — life skills that will serve them well beyond their time on campus.

• Exploration & Discovery: Sodexo continues to innovate across services, technology, and partnerships to create unique, seamless experiences to meet students where they are, with what they want.

Guided by data, insights, and decades of experience on more than 400 campuses nationwide, Sodexo Campus enhances college dining with innovative food options, thoughtfully designed spaces, and tailored programs to meet each community’s unique needs. Sodexo Campus recently announced the launch of Food Hive, its newest people-centered dining concept featuring community-oriented campus convenience stores that support local partners and minority- and women-owned businesses. Sodexo Campus also recently announced a partnership with the James Beard Foundation®, bringing award-winning chefs to college campuses and upholding its greater mission of fostering meaningful moments for students.

About Sodexo North America

Sodexo North America is a division of Sodexo Group, a global Fortune 500 company operating in 45 countries and a leading provider of sustainable food and integrated facilities management in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam, at every moment in life: learn, work, heal and play. Across the U.S., the company employs over 100,000 people and indirectly supports tens of thousands of additional jobs by annually purchasing goods and services from a wide range of small to large businesses. Sodexo North America is committed to meeting the challenges of everyday life with a dual goal: to improve the quality of life of our employees and those we serve, and to contribute to the economic, social and environmental progress in the communities where we operate. Our purpose is to create a better everyday for everyone to build a better life for all.