OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Every year at the College World Series, fans consume thousands of pounds of food at concession stands, but there’s still a lot of leftover food that just ends up being thrown away.
But Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue has partnered with MECA and Levy Restaurants to try to keep food from going to landfills.
“That means we connect food providers like grocery stores, caterers and event centers to collect surplus fresh and prepared foods and deliver them the same day in refrigerated trucks to nonprofit organizations serving local residents in need,” said Renli Kunze, CEO and president of Saving Grace Perishable.
Dairy products, produce, protein and other items that would otherwise be thrown away are collected five days a week and donated.
A group called “Saving Grace” is working to prevent food waste at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha during CWS.
“We work with over 40 nonprofits and today we’ll be delivering supplies to Siena Francis House just down the street. We know there’s a real need right here, just four blocks from the stadium and close to the College World Series,” Kunze said.
Levy’s Senior Executive Chef, Tyler Humphrey, is the driving force behind this initiative and is directly responsible for loading the ingredients onto the trucks and getting them to their destinations.
“Composting is a last resort, so if we can’t donate it, we’ll compost it, but the aim is to get rid of as much food as possible as quickly as possible. The great thing about Saving Grace is that when you call, they answer the phone right away and come out the same day,” Humphrey said.
Kountze said about 80,000 people in the capital region are food insecure, including 26,000 children, and this initiative to rescue unused food is helping to alleviate that hardship.
“There’s an abundance of food produced around the world. About 38 percent of the food produced goes unsold or uneaten, meaning it essentially ends up in landfills, whether it’s household waste or just waste from overproduction. This just doesn’t make sense when you think about how many people are food insecure in our metropolitan area and how much food is wasted locally and nationally,” Kunze says.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Saving Grace’s partnership with Levy Restaurants, the main food and beverage offering at Charles Schwab Field.
Last year, Saving Grace collected 654,000 pounds of food to donate.
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