Hundreds of tables and booths for every food product you’ve ever and never heard of stretch as far as the eye can see in not one but two convention halls at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.
It’s the UNFI Food Show, and everything from produce to deli meat to organic snack foods are on display. But what happens to all that food when the show’s over?
A volunteer crew joined Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida for a food rescue. Over the course of about four hours, these 25 individuals pushed and rolling bins through the maze of vendor tables, and rescued nearly 18,000 pounds of leftover food earlier this spring.
The volunteers help maximize efficiency and the overall amount of food collected in such a short period of time.
“Relying solely on staff would drastically slow down the collection process and create the possibility for thousands of pounds of food our neighbors rely on to still end up being wasted,” said Ian Dixon, Second Harvest’s Volunteer Manager who directed the UNFI show rescue effort. “The mere presence of the volunteers helps ensure that those pounds of food are recovered and make it to families facing hunger.”
He said the UNFI Food Show is one of the biggest tradeshows from which Second Harvest recovers food. The food bank typically goes to about four shows a year, but has been to as many as seven.
“This impact is in part due to the generosity of the exhibitors and show operations team, but is a huge testament to the impact that a few dedicated individuals can have when united in the fight against hunger,” Ian said. “I can never thank them enough for being so gracious in donating their time and energy to our mission. These events are massive undertakings and require an equivalent effort to be successful, our volunteers go beyond expectation, and I could not be more grateful.”
After volunteers collect the food , Second Harvest trucks transport the donations to the food bank’s warehouse where they are sorted into cold and dry storage and prepared for distribution through local feeding partners.
One partner that received rescued food was the food pantry at Comite Civico in Casselberry.
Lorena Ortega, who runs the pantry at Comite Civico, was delighted to see the fresh fruits and vegetables, along with packaged sandwiches and deli meats and cheeses.
“(The neighbors) will be so happy to see fruits and vegetables,” Lorena said. “It’s just a big blessing.”
She said Comite Civico serves between 100 and 200 families at every distribution, which happens twice a month. Many of the neighbors seeking food assistance are seniors and it’s important to provide healthy options.
“We want to not only feed but also give nutrition,” Lorena said. “Especially when everything is so expensive, especially protein. They can’t afford it, so they take it out of their daily food. Now they can have it.”
