Concessionaires at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) have partnered with Loaves and Fishes, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit, to establish a new program that collects ready-to-eat food donations from MSP restaurant operations.
Three times a week, food donations are brought from the airport to Loaves and Fishes’ warehouse. From there, the meals are distributed to meal sites and partner meal programs, sent out with street outreach teams to feed homeless communities, or given to a recovery community in need of food donations.
The idea to partner with Loaves and Fishes was conceived by HMSHost as part of its “startsomewhere” sustainability program. HMSHost, which operates 30 restaurants at MSP, has already donated about 1.5 million pounds of leftover prepackaged food in 2016 as a part of startsomewhere, which is active in select other airports in the U.S. and Canada
MSP is working with Loaves and Fishes and HMSHost to scale up the program further. Delaware North, with three restaurants, and OTG, with eight restaurants, have also recently signed on to the program.
“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.”
