Chartwells’ meals give students the power to change lives
Partnering with WE has been key to engaging employees, satisfying clients and connecting with students
There are meals that sustain you body and soul. And then there are meals that change lives.
When Ashton Sequeira took over as president in 2017, Chartwells was already the largest food service provider to universities and schools in Canada. Sequeira wanted the over 45 million meals Chartwells serves every year to do more than nourish students or boost the company’s bottom line. Enter Thinking Ahead Giving Back, the company’s flagship initiative launched in 2018 to deepen its relationship with students and give them opportunities to make a difference with every breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Chartwells has since provided more than 1.4 million meals to fight food insecurity at home and around the world. Associates working at the company, meanwhile, have found a new sense of purpose. And clients representing more than 600 campuses across the country have embraced the giving spirit.
This mix of profit and purpose started when Chartwells challenged their team of over 6,000 associates to view their work differently. “We’re not only a food service company, we’re a collaborative thought partner for our clients,” explains Sequeira.
After a year of consultation with administrators, experts and students, Chartwells created Thinking Ahead Giving Back. The three-year initiative has three monumental goals: deliver one million meals to tackle food insecurity; provide 10,000 hours of community support around mental health and well-being; and provide 1,000 job connections through a more focused commitment to student employment.
The emphasis on food security, well-being and youth social action quickly led Chartwells to WE. “With WE’s global reach and desire to empower students, partnering with them made immediate sense,” Sequeira says.
The ‘WE Menu Special’ was launched on campuses across the country in 2018. Proceeds support WE food security programs, agricultural training and school meals that help break the cycle of poverty in communities in nine countries. Chartwells also provides free online and campus workshops as part of WE Well-being, a new program designed to support youth mental health and wellness.
Since the launch of Thinking Ahead Giving Back, Chartwells’ business has benefited in several key ways.
Not only has the company retained all of its existing partners, new campuses have come onboard. In April, when Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. announced its new relationship with Chartwells, the University’s Vice President Martin Pochurko called Thinking Ahead Giving Back “the game changer.”
Student approval ratings have also increased. Chartwells ‘Happy or Not’ onsite surveys have shown an 11 per cent increase in customer satisfaction levels.
Chartwells has also seen a 400 per cent jump in the number of associates who submit year-end staff satisfaction surveys, an indicator of increased engagement. Responses are moving in the right direction, too, with positive feedback to questions such as ‘How do I feel about my organization?’ improving as much as 10 per cent.
Jessica Briggs Temple, a regional marketing execution manager in Atlantic Canada, notes that more students are positively interacting with Chartwells on social media since the partnership with WE. But the biggest difference has been with her colleagues. “There’s heightened engagement across the board, especially on professional platforms like LinkedIn,” she says. “It’s created a ripple effect.”
Briggs Temple and four colleagues will take a ME to WE trip to Kenya in February, visiting communities that benefit from Chartwells’ support. The trip is one more piece of Chartwells’ vision to build a culture that combines business success with social impact.
“You can lead with purpose, accomplish your business objectives and change lives at the same time,” says Sequeira. Thinking Ahead Giving Back is proof.