Grayson Natural Foods Approved by Aramark as a Local Supplier to Wake Forest University
DURHAM, NC — December 4, 2008
FoodLogiQ, the leading provider of On Demand food safety and traceability software, today announced that they have provided solutions to May’s Meats enabling them to be approved by Aramark as a local supplier for Wake Forest University.
Wake Forest University impressed upon its suppliers to purchase more locally grown foods. As a key supplier of Wake Forest, Aramark an international company specializing in food services for stadiums, arenas, campuses, businesses, and schools, is committed to “fostering new connections from field to fork emphasizing fresh whole foods that are raised, grown, harvested and produced locally and/or sustainably.”
Grayson Natural Foods, LLC, a premium meat company focused on raising cattle using sustainable farming practices, wanted to be able to supply to Wake Forest University through Aramark. In order to qualify, they needed their processor, Mays Meats, to be able to complete a 3rd party audit of their plants for food safety. Through FoodLogiQ services and software, Mays Meats received an initial assessment in preparation of the 3rd party audit. The assessment identified areas of improvement that enabled Mays Meats to put the proper Food Safety program in place. Mays Meats then leveraged the FoodLogiQ software to order a 3rd party audit. The qualified 3rd party auditor leveraged FoodLogiQ software to conduct the audit and track the results which were presented to Aramark so they could be approved as a local supplier.
Responding to these locally grown initiatives isn’t always easy. Aramark typically buys as much as possible from one national distributor to keep costs down; building relationships with local farmers - few of whom have experience with food-service companies – can be difficult. “FoodLogiQ software and services really guided us through the process of being able to supply our products to a large food service company like Aramark. FoodLogiQ has been a tremendous assistance to us as it has opened up our ability to market our products more broadly and to larger retailers and food service companies” says Gary Mitchell of Grayson Natural Foods, LLC.
About Grayson Natural Foods, LLC Grayson Natural Foods, LLC is a local, natural beef production and marketing company located in Grayson County, Virginia. The company was formed by five local farmers committed to returning more money to the local community. All their beef is raised on family farms and is traceable back to the pasture it was born in. Grayson Natural Foods is able to tell you exactly where each steak and even each hamburger patty came from because the animals are processed individually. Grayson Natural Foods cattle never receive any antibiotics or hormones and they are pasture raised. For more, visit www.graysonnatural.com or call 276-773-3712.