Page 20 - Vol.5 No. 7 July 2021

18 JULY 2021
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Whippany firm, longtime leader in corporate dining services, will play key role in return-to-work plans
For companies hoping to get remote employees back into office buildings, Dartcor has a
suggestion: Feed them well.
“I think food is a great way to get employees and tenants excited about returning to the office,” said Jason Leeds, vice president for business development at Dartcor.
His opinion should come as no surprise. Founded in 1985, the Whippany-based company offers high-end cafeteria menus, grab-and-go markets, pantries and coffee options for office buildings in New Jersey,
Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York. And, with a return to work on the horizon for many businesses, its services could be as important as ever.
Leeds said landlords and employers have been
asking Dartcor
how to convince
food.” He’s seen employers who might not previously have offered subsidized or free food or coffee “take their programs to a different level in order to add some excitement to the return to the office.”
Workers may still have mixed feelings about being on site. The national Littler Annual Employer Survey in May found that 71 percent of employers surveyed think employees prefer hybrid work, and 55 percent of those employers will offer a hybrid model; 28 percent of those employers, though, plan to
bring back most employees full-time and in-person.
Leeds thinks “working from home
for a time became very cozy and comfortable,” especially when the outside world didn’t feel safe, and expects friction in getting employees back to offices. One way to overcome that, he said, is hospitality: “How
can we make people feel warm and welcome?” Dartcor provides “gift bags” of hand sanitizer, masks and food items for employees’ desks and throws “welcome back day” barbecues for clients.
“There are things that happen by chance when people run into each other and share meals together,” Leeds said, and “having your teams back in the offices, sharing meals with one another, grabbing a coffee together, just leads to a more productive culture” and a better exchange of ideas.
Dartcor, founded by Jason’s
father, Warren Leeds, began as
a gourmet market 30-plus years
ago and branched into hospitality management, eventually focusing
on corporate dining. Employers are “basically looking at food as a benefit now and a way to attract and retain best-in-class human capital,” Jason Leeds said.
In New Jersey, Dartcor uses locally sourced ingredients from AeroFarms in Newark, Ralston Farm in Hopewell and the Bread Gal Bakery in Paterson, among other vendors. The food is prepared by chefs formerly
of high-end New York restaurants like Jean-Georges, Daniel and Per
Se, who prefer the more family- friendly lifestyle of corporate dining, Leeds said. He thinks clients choose Dartcor because “we prioritize getting fresh, local food, putting together super-healthy menus.”
Employers and landlords generally subsidize the food to some extent — charging employees or tenants
By Marlaina Cockcroft
employees
to return as the pandemic recedes. “And they’re really leaning on us to do that with
Jason Leeds
A new collaboration between Dartcor and New Stand at Work, a platform that offers contactless buying, offers a variety of snacks at office buildings across the region.
Courtesy: Dartcor