ShanghaiJune 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sodexo China recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Chongming Agriculture Committee and two outstanding local agricultural enterprises under Miaozhen Town, jointly establishing the Sodexo Chongming Vegetable Directed Planting Base. This move marks a significant step for Sodexo in building a direct sourcing and supply chain traceability system.
Sodexo China, Shanghai Chongming Miaozhen Town Government, and representatives of agricultural enterprises attend the signing ceremony
Chongming Agriculture Committee and Miaozhen Town Government stated:
“The Chongming Agriculture Committee and Miaozhen Town will join hands with Sodexo China, focusing on eco-green vegetables as a flagship project. Centered on enhancing overall well-being and building a green, sustainable supply chain, we will deliver the service commitment of ‘vegetables leaving the island with morning dew, arriving fresh and fast on the table’ to more clients and consumers.”
Sodexo China-Chongming Vegetable Directed Planting Base officially inaugurated
Directed Planting: A Strategic Partnership between Sodexo and Chongming Miaozhen Town
Chongming Island boasts precious ecological advantages for Shanghai—high-quality soil, clean water sources, and a favorable climate—with its vegetables enjoying a strong reputation in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region. As a key town in western Chongming, Miaozhen Town has actively explored an integrated development model combining agriculture, sports, culture, tourism, and commerce in recent years. It is precisely this natural endowment and governance system that led Sodexo to ultimately select Miaozhen Town in Shanghai’s Chongming District as the site for its vegetable directed planting base. Covering 380 mu (approximately 25.3 hectares), the base will supply Sodexo with a variety of fresh vegetables on a directed basis.
Sodexo’s “directed planting” model is not a pursuit of a buzzword but is grounded in years of practice. As early as 2018, Sodexo began incubating a direct sourcing model. By partnering with experienced local agricultural enterprises and locking in acreage, varieties, and standards through strategic agreements, Sodexo leverages the professional expertise of local farmers to precisely control the quality and safety of each batch from the source. In Sichuan, Sodexo teams have repeatedly visited the company’s cage-free egg-laying hen bases, conducting full-process assessments from hen rearing environments, feed ratios, and animal welfare standards to product traceability, promoting compliant local farms into the supply chain and truly grounding the “farm-to-table” concept at the source. After years of continuous iteration and experience accumulation, Sodexo has further upgraded this model, reaching a strategic cooperation with the Miaozhen Town Government in Chongming, ushering in a new phase of government-enterprise collaboration for quality control from the source.
Isabelle Hénon, Chairman and Managing Director of Sodexo Greater China, stated:
“The partnership with Chongming Miaozhen Town is a significant milestone in Sodexo’s practice of the ‘farm-to-table’ concept in China. By combining direct sourcing with a green supply chain, we aim to deliver a more reassuring, healthier, and more delicious dining experience to consumers, while also contributing to the sustainable development of local agriculture.”
Sodexo China-Chongming Vegetable Directed Planting Base operational
Scientific Farming, Green Supply Chain Ensures Safety from the Source
In terms of food safety and quality control, Sodexo starts from the source, directly participating in and supervising the management of pesticide use. The cooperative base has introduced an integrated water-fertilizer intelligent irrigation system, using sensor networks to monitor soil conditions in real time, enabling precise irrigation and fertilization. This not only reduces the risk of agricultural non-point source pollution but also significantly improves the quality and taste of the vegetables. This source management approach aligns with Sodexo’s systematic efforts in building a green supply chain. Previously, Sodexo China was awarded the first “Green Supply Chain Evaluation Technical Specification” certificate in the catering industry by the China Quality Certification Center for its outstanding practices in responsible sourcing, green logistics, and low-carbon operations. At the Chongming base, Sodexo will continue to apply these high standards, achieving full-process green management from field to table.
Notably, vegetables from the directed planting base will be brought to market strictly in accordance with pesticide pre-harvest intervals, ensuring sufficient natural degradation of pesticide residues, and will undergo rigorous quality testing before sale. This safeguards the first line of defense for food safety from the source.
Implementing “Better Tomorrow 2028,” Co-creating a Sustainable Future
This cooperation is a vivid practice of Sodexo’s “Better Tomorrow 2028” vision. As the core framework of Sodexo’s global sustainable development strategy, “Better Tomorrow 2028” positions sustainability as a strategic engine driving business growth, committed to creating measurable positive impacts on the planet and society through daily actions. At the planting base in Shanghai’s Chongming, Sodexo is transforming this vision into tangible actions rooted in the land—controlling quality from the source and empowering sustainable agricultural development through a green supply chain.
From the vegetable planting base in Chongming Miaozhen Town to every table Sodexo serves, Sodexo will continue to uphold the “farm-to-table” concept, persistently expanding source cooperation in planting and breeding, and steadily achieving a diversified and directed procurement supply chain. Leveraging its leading green supply chain management system, Sodexo aims to create a better and healthier dining experience for every consumer.