Diversity & Inclusion
SUPPORTING DIVERSE COMMUNITIES AND BUSINESSES
As a company, we hope to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive future, beginning with how we do business and how we give back to the communities where we live and work. By increasing the diversity of our suppliers and our international restaurant offerings, we are supporting economic growth among multicultural businesses and populations. In conjunction, our outreach to diverse communities allows us to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others that reaches beyond our workplace and supports the underserved.
SUPPLIER DIVERSITY
US Foods® has a commitment to diversity and is continuing to build a supplier diversity program that enhances our network of vendor partnerships with small businesses and companies that are owned and operated by a diverse spectrum of people, consisting of women, minorities, veterans, LGBT+ and individuals with disabilities. We are expanding our diverse supplier network through membership organizations, such as:
- National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)
- Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
- The LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois (LGBTCC)
- Disability: IN, the leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion
- Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC)
- Food and Beverage Industry Group, an organization historically focused on enhancing supplier diversity across the industry where US Foods has a Board position
This work is led by our dedicated Supplier Diversity team that collaborates with subject matter experts across the business, as well as customers and suppliers, to develop supplier sourcing strategies and secure data to make informed choices. Our strategy is enhanced by our Supplier Diversity Council, a cross-functional team comprised of customer-facing and procurement-facing members of our organization focused on ensuring diversity is considered as buying decisions are made.
As a part of our supplier set-up process, US Foods seeks to identify and track purchases of both diverse suppliers. Upon request, US Foods can provide a report of its utilization of diverse vendors in a customer’s purchase history. US Foods uses a third-party provider to review business classification data, including small business and diversity status. This supplier is a minority- and woman-owned small business.
1. Figures include trade and indirect spend with Tier I suppliers.
SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES
As a Feeding America Leadership Partner, we support food banks and other related nonprofits through product and financial contributions, with the aim of reaching underserved populations in need across our entire US Foods footprint. We are grateful to our associates who help support these efforts and enable us to provide critical donations to those facing food insecurity.
Since March 2020, we’ve donated $30 million in product to charitable organizations, including 125,000 pounds of food to help the Greater Chicago Food Depository bring pop-up food pantries to communities of color on Chicago’s South and West Sides, which have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and civil unrest.
US Foods Scholars Program
Our US Foods Scholars program seeks to support the pipeline of diverse talent entering the restaurant industry by providing financial support and professional development opportunities to outstanding underserved students pursuing culinary careers. Since its inception in 2017, the program has offered more than $1 million in scholarship funding to alleviate financial barriers to our industry and help the next generation of diverse culinarians reach their full potential. Today, more than 90% of our US Foods Scholars are diverse. As part of our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, the program has also expanded to include two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Bethune-Cookman University and Lawson State Community College, as well as Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
To learn more about the program and each of our talented scholars, click here.