Food donations tend to level off during the summer months, but the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are helping to buck the trend, especially in Fairfield County.
That’s according to Karen Saggese, co-site director for Food Rescue US-Fairfield County. The group collects donated food from retailers and food service companies and delivers them to local nonprofits.
Saggese said Food Rescue is able to maintain collection levels throughout the year due to its partnership with corporations like NBC’s sports division, based in Stamford. That means extra food for needy residents throughout Fairfield County.
Approximately 1,200 employees based at NBC Sports in Stamford are currently away in Paris, covering the games. So, there’s lots of extra food at the company’s cafeteria.
NBC Sports donates to Food Rescue throughout the year, according to Rob Landau, executive vice president of business operations at NBC Sports.
“We've donated just about 5,000 pounds of food to be distributed in the local community to various agencies,” Landau said.
Companies like NBC help make up for a shortfall in donations during the summer, Saggese said.
“Having these corporate partners, though, that are consistent throughout the year and don't really drop off is really, really important.”
This time, the load is a little light; four aluminum trays and a box filled with fresh potatoes.
Saggese then drives a short distance towards Pacific House, a men’s only homeless shelter, nearly two miles away from NBC Sports’ bustling studios complete with an Eiffel Tower replica.
Short-term residents at the shelter help unload the food onto a cart and wheel it away for later use at the kitchen complete with a commercial-grade refrigerator.
Saggese, who used to work as an attorney, said she wanted to do something that brought more meaning to her life. That’s when she began to volunteer and saw a lot of good food being tossed out, food she said, that could have gone to someone.
She finds that meaning every day, one drop off at a time.
“It is a real instant gratification when you do it, you can completely turn a bad day around,” Saggese said.
