As reported by the HEAL Food Alliance:
The report examines the practice of receiving ‘kickbacks’ and illustrates how these cash rebates, once a deal-sweetener for businesses like Aramark, Sodexo and Compass Group, now appear to be driving the companies’ business model and accounting for as much as half of the profits. As detailed in the report:
Three multinational corporations, Aramark, Sodexo, and Compass Group control 81% of higher education dining contracts and effectively act as gatekeepers to the $52 billion management industry.
This pay-to-play system advantages the food suppliers with the greatest ability to pay: the largest food and beverage manufacturers like Tyson, Cargill, and JBS.
In the process, the system squeezes small and medium-size farms and food businesses out of the important college market.
“In my opinion, rebates create an inherent conflict of interest. Decision makers are likely to make food choices based on maximizing rebate income rather than more important factors.”
- John Carroll, former Assistant Attorney General of New York