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Chartwells Higher Education Announces Ten-Year Partnership with the California State University System

Chartwells Higher Education, a recognized leader in contract food service management, today announced its ten-year dining services strategic sponsorship agreement with the California State University (CSU) system, the largest four-year public university system in the U.S. The sponsorship agreement provides the opportunity for any of the 23 CSU campuses, or any auxiliary organization authorized to manage, operate, or administer food services on behalf of a CSU campus, to use Chartwells’ services. Chartwells currently operates dining services at eight CSU campuses, with operations beginning at the ninth campus in the summer of 2022.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Chartwells,” said Brad Wells, CSU’s associate vice chancellor of Business and Finance. “After a very intensive and thorough RFP process, we are excited about the benefits that this arrangement will bring to our students.” The first-of-its-kind sponsorship brings a number of benefits to California State University campuses, including:

  • Student Well Being – Aligned with the CSU Basic Needs Initiatives, Chartwells aids students through meal plan support, on-campus food pantries, food recovery networks, and student education.
  • Student Success Program – Chartwells offers a customized Student Success Internship Program, which is a for-credit, paid internship program that allows students to receive real-world experience in a wide variety of areas including marketing, graphic design, operations, sustainability, and technology.
  • Sustainability – Chartwells works with each campus to create a customized dining sustainability plan focused on responsible sourcing, local purchasing, food waste reduction, and plant-forward menus supported by a California-based sustainability manager.
  • Student-First Programming – Chartwells is committed to designing meaningful and engaging programs for students both inside and outside of dining halls, such as themed events and plant-based dining hall takeovers, hosting national street food festivals with other campuses, creating local food bank initiatives with students, and more.
  • Operational Support and Efficiencies – The partnership includes the support of a California-based operations and program team to include district managers, district chefs, district marketing managers, sustainability managers, and technology managers. CSU partners also benefit from enhanced operational efficiencies with access to industry data, market research, technology, cybersecurity, and strategic project management.

“We are thrilled to partner with the entire California State University and work together to provide students with exceptional food service,” said Joe Fischioni, Chartwells Higher Education West Division President. “We understand that every CSU campus is unique, and we’re excited to collaborate on custom meal plans and programming that reflect each school’s distinct campus culture and provide students with tailor-made dining experiences.”