Waste Not, a Valley nonprofit in Mesa dedicated to eliminating food waste and hunger, is teaming up with NFL Green to rescue and donate food from Super Bowl events.
NFL Green was established in 1993 and is the National Football League’s environmental program. Each year, NFL Green partners with local nonprofits and organizations like Waste Not to leave a positive “Green Legacy” in the communities hosting the Super Bowl.
Waste Not has been helping people and the planet flourish since 1987. Through sustainable food systems powered by innovative partnerships, Waste Not is an industry leader rescuing hundreds of thousands of pounds of food every year.
When Waste Not worked with NFL Green during Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, the local nonprofit collected 69,295 pounds of food and beverages from Super Bowl events and distributed them to agencies around the Valley serving those in need.
“Waste Not does good work in the community every day to make sure food is available to those in need,” said Susan Groh, associate director of NFL Green. “It is a pleasure to partner with them to recover prepared, unserved food from Super Bowl events and make sure it goes where it is needed most.”
NFL Green is actively mitigating the environmental impact of the Super Bowl through projects like food recovery and distribution, recycling and solid waste management, recovery and donation of event and building materials, community greening and reforestation projects, and the use of “green energy” to power events.
This year, St. Mary’s Food Bank and United Food Bank will be supporting Waste Not’s efforts to pick up all surplus food from the Super Bowl. Together, the three organizations will be delivering the food to Waste Not agencies like UMOM and St. Vincent de Paul as they seek to feed the nearly one million Arizonans struggling with food insecurity.
“Waste Not could not do what we do without generous partners like the NFL,” said Hillary Bryant, executive director of Waste Not. “Innovative partnerships with organizations like NFL Green allow us to feed the hungry in our communities and provide a sustainable solution to food waste."
