At the Paris Olympics, the morning meal is literally the breakfast of champions. It takes a lot of food to feed the athletes, spectators, and workers. But what happens to the food that goes uneaten?
Olympic organizers want to make sure it doesn’t go to waste. Instead, it will help hungry people all around Paris.
About 40,000 meals are served each day of the Games. These meals feed thousands of athletes from more than 200 nations and territories. For the competitors, it’s all free. But outside, about 10 million people in France may not have enough to eat. And about 10 million tons of food goes to waste in the country every year.
Officials want to use the Games as an example for others. They teamed up with three groups to distribute uneaten food to the needy.
Valerie de Margerie is president of one of those groups, Le Chainon Manquant (The Missing Link). “We cannot continue to allow our trash cans to overflow with quality products while there are people nearby who are unable to feed themselves adequately,” she says.
Distributing uneaten food can be a complicated task. Some items go bad within days. Some even need to be consumed the same day.
De Margerie goes to the Olympic sites each morning at 6:00 a.m. with 100 volunteers. They collect unsold sandwiches and salads. They gather uneaten meals cooked for workers. Within hours, they deliver the fresh food to local charities. Those charities distribute it to hungry people: families, the homeless, students, and others.
Another group, a food bank, sends vans to collect uneaten food each night. They transport it to warehouses. Volunteers sort through the meals until early morning. The food bank has brought in over 30 tons of food from the Olympic sites. For comparison, that’s about the same weight as five adult male elephants!
Sometimes, God blesses us with more than we need. But He doesn’t want us to hoard it. He wants us to use His gifts to bless others. What we do for those in need honors God. (Matthew 25:40) Look for places where you have more than you need. Ask God how you can use those things to help your neighbors.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. — Matthew 25:35
