Loaves and Fishes Gets Donations from MSP Airport Restaurants
In time for the 2017 holidays, Loaves and Fishes, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit serving free, nutritious meals across seven Minnesota counties, has established a new program that collects ready-to-eat food donations from restaurant operators at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP).
The airport food donation program supports Loaves and Fishes’ Zero Percent Food Recovery program aimed at reducing food waste.
“This new partnership will help Loaves and Fishes continue down its path of strong growth,” says Cathy Maes, Loaves and Fishes’ executive director. “Over the last three years alone, we have expanded the number of meals served by 63 percent. Having access to high quality, donated food, like that which the airport can provide, allows us to not only expand our services but gives our guests access to food they otherwise wouldn’t experience.”
Three times a week, a Loaves and Fishes staff member arrives at MSP’s loading docks in a full-size cargo van to pick up the ready-to-eat food. The items are then taken back to Loaves and Fishes’ warehouse where they are distributed among their many meal sites, given to partners for their respective meal programs, sent out with a street outreach team to be passed out to homeless communities, or given to a recovery community that depends on donations for their food.
HMSHost, which operates 30 restaurants at MSP Airport, including options popular with travelers like Minnesota Wild, Starbucks Coffee, and MKT, conceived the idea as part of its company-wide commitment to community service and reducing food waste under its “startsomewhere” sustainability program.
As part of this program, HMSHost donated roughly 1.5 million pounds of food in 2016 in the US and Canada. Stringent food safety and quality standards in HMSHost restaurants means its leftover, prepackaged foods, like sandwiches and salads, are ideal for donation.
“HMSHost is very excited to establish this food donation program with Loaves and Fishes,” said Butch Howard, HMSHost senior director of operations at the airport. “We serve a lot of travelers in the airport, and it is an honor to also help serve the local community through these efforts.”
Loaves and Fishes will eventually receive leftover prepared food from other airport restaurants. The Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates MSP, is working with Loaves and Fishes and HMSHost to scale up the initiative to include more of the airport’s restaurateurs. Delaware North, with three restaurants, and OTG, with eight restaurants, have also recently signed on to the program.
