Buffs Hospitality Pitches In With Food For Local Shelters, Safehouses
October 13, 2016 | Football, General, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Ever wonder what happens to all the food that doesn't get served at a football stadium on game day?
In many instances, it simply heads to the local landfill. It's tossed and nobody benefits.
But the University of Colorado's Folsom Field isn't among the norm — and "leftovers" from Colorado Buffaloes' home games aren't really left over.
Instead, if at all possible, they are donated to charity and end up serving the community in the form of meals for local homeless shelters, teen shelters and safehouses. It's just one more step in CU's and the Athletic Department's commitment to sustainability.
"We were having a meeting and it just kind of came up as an idea, something we could do that would help the community," said Maxx Phillips, Director of Operations for Buffs Hospitality (part of Levy Restaurants). "There are some other Levy sports teams that have similar programs, so we were able to reach out to them and get their best practice.
"Honestly, it just made sense. You can't recycle everything, but Leo (Mendoza, head chef for Buffs Hospitality) and I drive around Boulder quite and bit and you can see there's a need for something like this. We just said, 'Let's do this,' and it grew from there."
After some research, Buffs Hospitality reached out to Rock and Wrap It Up, a national anti-poverty "think tank." Rock and Wrap It Up works across North America with sports franchises, rock concerts and promoters, other entertainment entities and schools to repurpose useable food and assets that might otherwise go to waste. Along with collecting food that can be served at a later date, they collect everything from dorm room refrigerators to hotel soaps and shampoos that can be used by charities.
Thus, instead of those items entering a landfill and contributing to greenhouse gas buildup, they're used by people who need them the most — and the charities, meanwhile, can direct their funds to other more-pressing needs.
"What we do is lower the carbon footprint of these groups and help fight poverty at the same time," said Jessie Plotkin, a 2014 CU grad and local representative for Rock and Wrap It Up. "We're very proud of what we're able to do. With sustainability being so important and poverty being an issue everywhere, we're able to address some environmental concerns and the needs of society at the same time."
Groups in Boulder that are benefitting from Folsom Field food include the Safehouse Progressive Alliance, Attention Homes and the Boulder Homeless Shelter.
Of course, from a strict business angle, Buffs Hospitality would like to calculate down to the last hot dog how much food they'll need for a football game. But given that so many factors are involved — beginning with the size of the crowd — they are more than happy to donate the unused food.
Their latest donation included more than 215 pounds of food — mostly brisket, ribs, turkeys and hot dogs, protein that is greatly needed by the shelters. According to Plotkin, that donation will produce approximately 180 meals, along with eliminating nearly 120 pounds of carbon monoxide production that would have been produced had the food gone to a landfill.
"As a business leader, you want to be as efficient as possible," Phillips said. "But there's no way we can make everything come out perfectly. So, if there's an opportunity to help out the community, it's something we want to pursue. What we're learning is there is a lot more we can do, and we'll get better at it as the program evolves."
The "mere" task of planning a menu for roughly 45,000 guests is no doubt daunting. The Buffs Hospitality staff stays in close touch with the CU ticket office throughout the week prior to a game, doing their best to estimate how much food they'll need. They must also take into account weather (hot days mean more bottled water will be needed) as well as the time of the game (evening games mean more food).
It is, simply, more art than science.
"It's a huge challenge and a logistical nightmare," Mendoza admitted. "No. 1, you have to make sure everything is cooked at the right temperature. Safety and sanitation is always our first priority, and preparing food on this scale can be a little nerve-wracking at times. You look at what you sold last game, you calculate what you'll need and then make sure you never run out."
The amount of food and beverages sold is — obviously — tremendous. According to Phillips, Buffs Hospitality served approximately 13,000 bottled waters, 13,000 beer "units" (cans and cups), 4,000 servings of popcorn, 3,500 hot dogs, 3,500 pretzels and 1,000 cheeseburgers at the Oct. 1 Oregon State game.
"Ideally, you don't want to have anything left over from a business standpoint," Phillips said. "But you never want to run out of food — and our goal now is that if food comes back, we can utilize it in another manner and help some people. In the past, it was probably discarded.
"Now, we're able to donate and make a difference in the community."
Working with Buffs Hospitality has been a perfect transition for Plotkin. As a student at CU, she worked closely with CU Environmental Center Director Dave Newport. She also worked with the CU Athletic Department's sustainability efforts as a student.
Now, working for Rock and Wrap It Up, she's been able to utilize all her past experiences.
"None of this could have happened without Dave and the Environmental Center's help," Plotkin said. "They've been a huge help in a lot of areas. The neat thing is that all these groups have come together to do something that provides a benefit for everyone involved."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu