Sodexo boosts the energy quotient of athletes as Khelo India University Games drew curtains
Press ReleaseGlobal leader in Quality-of-Life services, with a prominent presence in the schools and universities segment through its dining, retail and campus management solutions, Sodexo, launched its comprehensive nutrition solution ‘Energize’ at the largest-ever university level sports competition ‘Khelo India’ held at Bangalore between 24th April – 3rd May 2022.
Sodexo was appointed by the hosts, Jain University as the food and catering partner for the sports mega-event witnessing the amalgamation of 5000 athletes, coaches, and technical officials from 208 universities across India and served ~300,000 meals spanning the event tenure. The event was organized by Government of Karnataka, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, along with the Association of Indian Universities, Indian Olympic Association and National Sports Federation.
It is a fact that sports nutrition plays an extremely important part in grooming athletes to deliver their best. And with its vast experience in looking after the nutrition requirements of students in schools and university campuses, drawing up special nutrition charts for sports enthusiasts, it was a natural progression for Sodexo to oversee the nutrition requirements of the athletes at the university games. Sodexo’s core responsibility for the event comprised of end-to-end services from the kitchen infrastructure and set up to health & hygiene maintenance, quality control, menu planning, food preparation and delivery via packed or assisted buffet services and retail counters. A series of engagement initiatives through the event days ensured a perfect blend of recreation & relaxation after a tiring day on field for the athletes.
Backed by the success of the event and Sodexo’s expertise in sports nutrition, the company formally launched Energize – a holistic program to equip athletes with proper nutrition and game-ready facilities at sports campuses. The program was initially piloted at Corvuss American Academy, Karjat and Jain Sports School, Bangalore before being successfully replicated at the recent university games. Energize program focuses on two aspects - Food and Nutrition that fuels athletes’ training in pre, during and post-season, including healthy meals for the road, on campus and refuelling snacks. These menus are designed by expert sports nutritionists roped in by Sodexo. The other part is the upkeep of the sporting facilities from cleaning and maintenance to supervising all grounds, turf, courts, pools and equipments year-round.