Aramark understands that supplier diversity creates value, opportunity, and economic impact—and is committed to creating a supplier base that reflects the company’s values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“Supplier diversity is not only a key supply chain and DEI initiative for Aramark. It is a business imperative that delivers positive economic impact and successful outcomes for the clients, consumers, and communities we serve,” said Natily Santos, Vice President of Responsible Sourcing, Aramark. “We currently have partnerships with thousands of small and diverse suppliers—and have set a goal to spend 25% of our purchases with small, local, and diverse businesses throughout our supply chain by 2025 in the U.S.”
In fiscal year 2023, the company spent more than $86 million with nearly 150 suppliers identifying as Black- or African-American-owned.
To commemorate National Black Business Month in August, Aramark is highlighting below some unique partnerships the company values and nurtures.
BLK & Bold: Brewing Coffee and Community
Started in 2018 by two best friends who shared a love for coffee and community, Iowa-based BLK & Bold coffee and tea products are now available nationwide at more than 12,000 retail locations, as well as select Aramark Refreshments accounts through a multi-year agreement announced in 2023.
BLK & Bold products, available to all Aramark lines of business, include whole bean coffee, roast and ground coffee, ready-to-drink cold brew cans, and single-serve coffee.
Founders Pernell Cezar and Rod Johnson created the company with an interest in investing in the youth community. BLK & Bold pledges five percent of its gross profits to nonprofit organizations that are aligned with guiding America’s less resourced youth.
The first Black-owned nationally distributed coffee brand in the U.S., BLK & Bold is a certified minority business enterprise (MBE), as well as a certified B Corporation for the company's social and environmental impact.
Arkansas River Rice and The Common Market
Chefs at several Aramark Collegiate Hospitality accounts in the southeast have been working with Arkansas River Rice, the largest Black-owned rice mill in the U.S., which offers several types of rice grown from local farms.
Aramark first began working with Arkansas River Rice through a partnership with The Common Market, a nonprofit regional wholesale food distributor that connects communities to food grown by local farms.
Started in Philadelphia in 2008, The Common Market is now a network of several regional food hubs delivering food to communities across the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Great Lakes, and Texas regions from more than 300 sustainable family farms and producers.
Sweet and Local: Desserts by Dana
Local restaurants—and the people who make them possible—are the cornerstones of every strong community.
To bring authentic, local favorites to clients and customers, Aramark created Local Restaurant Row, a guest restaurant, food truck, and chef program that highlights and supports local businesses, many of which are minority-, women-, or veteran-owned.
One Local Restaurant Row partner is the popular Desserts by Dana on the University of Delaware campus, which offers everything from cupcakes, macarons, and brownies to made-to-order birthday cakes Monday through Friday in the student center.
Desserts by Dana is owned by Chef Dana Herbert, who has competed in and won “TLC’s Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker” TV competition, is an award-winning business owner, and is a University of Delaware alumnus.
Connecting People to Produce: Crop Swap LA
Crop Swap LA (Growing Communities, Inc.) is a majority BIPOC-and-women-led agricultural non-profit organization that operates micro farms in urban neighborhoods around southern Los Angeles.
The Crop Swap LA team transforms underutilized spaces into efficient food production areas and encourages sustainable farming practices such as rainwater harvesting.
In addition, they provide local residents with better access to fresh fruits and vegetables grown through a series of micro farms that distribute produce in a membership-based CSA model.
Crop Swap LA is the beneficiary of a 2024 grant awarded by The FruitGuys Community Fund (TFGCF), a nonprofit with which Aramark partners in support of small, local farms and agricultural nonprofits.
Through a TFGCF grant, Crop Swap LA will develop a new micro farm site with the purchase of garden bed materials, seedlings, soil, and a rainwater catchment and drip irrigation system.
The installation of this single micro farm site will allow Crop Swap LA to grow an additional 5,000 pounds of food every year, opening the door to an additional five weekly CSA delivery members.
In 2022, Aramark committed to a three-year grant to TFGCF in support of small and underrepresented farms, including but not limited to, BIPOC nonprofit farms. To date, more than $135,000 has been awarded to 30 small and underrepresented farms across 17 U.S. states and territories.
