US Foods Opens Its Most Environmentally Sustainable Facility to Date

Foodservice distributor US Foods Holding Corp.’s 70th distribution facility, located in Sacramento, Calif., features a variety of sustainable building and fleet initiatives, making it US Foods’ most environmentally sustainable distribution facility so far. The company aims to use the 355,000-square-foot facility to better service its growing Northern California customer base, with plenty of room for expansion.

US Foods’ new facility contains foodservice products, fleet maintenance operations, a full-service demonstration kitchen, and a training center for customer product demonstrations and recipe innovation. The location in McClellan Park also includes an interactive technology center where US Foods customers can learn about the company’s innovative and web-based business solutions.

“Our state-of-the-art facility in Sacramento enables US Foods to more efficiently serve independent restaurants and foodservice operators across Northern California due to its proximity to our growing customer base and the energy-efficient attributes of the building and fleet reflect our commitment to sustainability,” noted Dan Geissbuhler, US Foods area president. “Sacramento’s dynamic economy continues to foster business growth and expansion opportunities, and we’re eager to showcase the many benefits the facility will bring to our customers as we help them Make It.”

Sustainability highlights of the building and fleet operations include:

• A pending Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for building design and construction.
• Solar array installations to be deployed later this year that are expected to generate 40%-50% of the building's energy needs.
• Energy-saving LED lighting, environmentally optimized HVAC systems, refrigeration systems that don’t use water for evaporative cooling, and water-saving landscaping.
• A fleet of 27 compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks fueled by renewable natural gas, a carbon-neutral biogas produced from the decomposition of organic matter. With the rollout of the Sacramento-based CNG trucks, US Foods will have 75-plus active CNG trucks in its fleet.
• An on-site fueling station that will provide renewable diesel (RD) to the facility’s fleet. US Foods is one of the early adopters of RD fuel use within the foodservice industry, having converted 100% of the fleet fuel used at its Vista, Corona, Livermore and La Mirada, Calif., locations to RD fuel earlier this year. RD fuel a more than 65% lower carbon intensity rating than traditional diesel.

Rosemont, Ill.-based US Foods partners with about 250,000 restaurants and foodservice operators. With 70 broadline locations and more than 80 cash and carry stores, the company and its 28,000 associates provide customers with a broad, innovative food offering and a comprehensive suite of e-commerce, technology and business solutions. US Foods also owns 82 Chef’store cash-and-carry locations across the continental United States.