{"id":219357,"date":"2026-03-14T07:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T07:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/219357\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T07:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T07:53:12","slug":"food-recovery-network-scores-touchdown-at-super-bowl-lx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/219357\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Recovery Network Scores Touchdown at Super Bowl LX"},"content":{"rendered":"

No matter what Super Bowl team you supported, one score that everyone can cheer is the Food Recovery Network\u2019s (FRN) rescue of usable food<\/a> from pre-game events.<\/p>\n

As fans watched the 2026 Super Bowl coin toss, college student volunteers got to work behind the scenes collecting 14,000 pounds of usable food from the 2026 Players\u2019 Tailgate in Santa Clara\u00a0and Guy Fieri\u2019s Flavortown Tailgate at the San Francisco Cow Palace. That perfectly good food is feeding hungry people in the Bay Area instead of going to landfills.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the Super Bowl there are a lot of celebrity chefs [at pre-game events],\u201d explained FRN CEO Regina Harmon.<\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

\"BrainShare\"BrainShare<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the pre-game activities, when they shut down, we are already on the ground, with trucks and volunteers. In the central storage for these events there\u2019s unopened food. Not only can we recover shelf-stable food \u2014 tortilla shells, for example \u2014 there are also unopened raw ingredients. In the chefs\u2019 area, they\u2019ll still have food in coolers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also prepared food that hasn\u2019t been put out,\u201d continued Harmon. \u201cOne location was a sandwich shop with premade wrapped submarine sandwiches that never left the refrigerator.<\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If we weren\u2019t there, that food would be thrown away.\u201d<\/p>\n

How much impact will this have? This food will serve up about 12,000 meals, keep 9 metric tons of CO2 out of the air, and save nearly 2 million gallons of water, according to FRN.<\/p>\n

The FRN was founded in 2011 by students at the University of Maryland. A year later the program expanded to colleges in half a dozen states. Today, the FRN is a national leader in diverting eatable food from landfills, with 250 U.S. chapters.<\/p>\n

Among the group\u2019s partners are Bullseye Event Group, which produced many of the Super Bowl events, and Hellman\u2019s. Food donors are verified by the organization and receive training and support from FRV. The World Cup is the next event on FRN\u2019s calendar, and FRN hopes to be working at those events in the Bay Area, as well, said CEO Harmon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with 400 nonprofits across the U.S. that accept the food,\u201d said Harmon.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Loaves & Fishes<\/a>\u2019 A La Carte<\/a> food recovery program was one recipient of the Super Bowl surplus.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople ate well that day [after Super Bowl],\u201d said Loaves & Fishes Director of Marketing & Communications, Stephenie Medina. \u201cEveryone was very impressed about the quality of the food and the high-value items\u00a0 \u2014 for example, some wonderful brisket.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Loaves & Fishes\u2019 A La Carte program is a major area food recovery program<\/a> in its own right, and partners include Meta, San Jos\u00e9\u2019s Mineta airport and Levi\u2019s Stadium. Last year A La Carte recovered 800,000 pounds of food, serving 700,000 meals from that, and keeping over 900 tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, according to Loaves & Fishes\u2019 Medina.<\/p>\n

Literally none of the food ever enters a landfill. Instead, unusable food goes into a biodigester \u2014\u00a0a system that breaks down organic matter without oxygen \u2014\u00a0that turns it into \u201csoil enhancers\u201d that goes to community gardens.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is part of an ecosystem that feeds people, and keeps tons of food out of landfills,\u201d said Medina. \u201cIt\u2019s a truly virtuous circle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though the Super Bowl is in the rearview mirror, people can support food recovery efforts at www.foodrecoverynetwork.org\/donate and tinyurl.com\/loavesfishesdonate<\/a>. Businesses interested in working with these groups should visit www.foodrecoverynetwork.org\/frv and www.loavesfishes.org\/food-recovery-2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Carolyn Schuk can be reached at carolyn@santaclaraweekly.com.<\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

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