Boston Seafood Expo Saves 16,000 Pounds of Seafood for Families in Need
“When you go out on the floor, just seeing how much food is going to the trash that is so mind-blowing. It’s fresh [food that] really good people at the stores pay money for.”
These sentiments by Amanda Kerstman, associate manager of volunteers for Food for Free, reflect the number of items the nonprofit organization recovered for free at North America’s largest seafood exposition. The event, held March 16 to 18, featured participation from more than 1,200 seafood companies across 51 countries.
More than a dozen employees and volunteers with the food rescue spent the afternoon of March 18 packing two trucks with unused seafood such as crab legs, salmon steaks, and haddock filets. Their efforts prevented close to 16,000 pounds of seafood from going to waste.
“We come here every year to recover perfectly good food that the exhibitors come here to display and then can’t take with them to their next event,” said Tim Cavaratta, director of operations for Food for Free, in an interview with 7 News Boston.
With rising grocery prices and an increase in the cost of living, Food for Free is helping to make sure that every bite of seafood isn’t wasted. The organization coordinated with the Greater Boston Food Bank and the Salem Pantry for food distribution.
“The prices are just skyrocketing, and that just makes it harder and harder to put healthy, culturally relevant food on the plate for people,” said Kerstman.
