MIAMI GARDENS, Florida. — A Formula One grand prix weekend is like a Super Bowl-caliber event in Miami, especially when it comes to the food.
Extravagant hospitality packages are created, award-winning chefs take over the weekend to bring a taste of South Florida to F1 and VIPs flood the paddock. Over the years, people like the Williams sisters, David Beckham, Ed Sheeran, Michael Jordan and Paris Hilton have walked the Hard Rock Stadium campus. Approximately 242,000 people attended the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, but restaurant chef teams working the event didn't quite know what to expect when preparing meals across campus.
Thousands of pounds of food are made over the three-day weekend, from simple ingredients like common produce to filet mignon. At the end of the 2022 weekend, there were approximately 90,000 pounds of food left over, equivalent to approximately 75,000 meals, a significant amount of food that needed to be rescued.
Food insecurity is increasing in the United States, particularly in South Florida. Tea Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion defines the term as “an economic and social condition at the family level of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.” In Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties, nonprofit organizations Feeding South Florida found that more than 1.2 million people faced food insecurity on Thanksgiving Day 2023.
Enter Food Rescue US, the middleman and solution to F1's surplus food situation in Miami. The nonprofit organization has volunteers who collect remaining viable food (such as food not used at buffets) and deliver the surplus to local agencies, such as homeless shelters and food bags. But if the food wasn't rescued, it would likely end up in landfills. The South Florida office has worked with Hard Rock Stadium for several years, delivering surplus food from college and professional football games to local organizations.
When F1 came to town, it was only natural that the Food Rescue US – South Florida branch would collaborate again with Hard Rock Stadium.
“I remember they called me and said, 'Ellen, we just got F1,'” said Ellen Bowen, the site's director. “'Think of the Super Bowl times three.'”
How does it work
The food rescue mission doesn't begin until after grand prize weekend.
During the first year of the race, volunteers spent three days collecting and delivering surplus food, which she described as food that can be sold or served but doesn't leave the kitchen. In 2022, this will range from pulled pork to vegetables and pastries. “It was amazing,” Bowen said. “It took us three days to do it with a total of 125 volunteers working basically four-hour shifts.”
It is impossible to save 100 percent of leftover food; For example, media catering is buffet style. But rescuing 90,000 pounds in the first year requires significant effort, not only providing food but also keeping food out of the landfill.
“Miami and Broward County are running out of landfill space. The incinerators we have used burned down last year. So as an organization, and I think as a county, we're really trying to find a way to reduce actual waste,” Bowen said, adding. “The organizations we feed are homeless shelters, they are community organizations that serve underserved communities, whether it's through a church or a community center, we put food in community refrigerators. “So all of this food that we rescue goes to people who maybe have never had a filet mignon before, or certainly to people who really need this good, healthy, nutritious food.”
The second year involved fewer volunteers as the existing kitchen staff brought in more employees to help store the food, leaving Food Rescue US – South Florida to coordinate transportation. With a grand prize weekend under their belt, the kitchen teams knew what to expect and the food surplus dwindled, but “it was pretty comparable to the Super Bowl in terms of quantity.”
Bowen estimated that the second year produced 60,000 pounds of food, which is equivalent to 50,000 meals; In 2024, the figure rose to 65,000 pounds, approximately 55,000 meals. (Miami GP managing partner Tom Garfinkel estimated that last weekend's 2024 race attracted 275,000 fans.) According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a meal weighs approximately 1.2 pounds, so you divide the weight of the meal by 1.2 to determine an estimate of your number of meals.
Over the years, the process has essentially remained the same (but this year it was a shorter day): food prepared on the first day, leftover prepared food, salads and produce, as well as unused items such as plates and cups the second day, and seasonings. and bread the third day. In 2024, the operation took just two days and seven trucks to the six different shelters in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Bowen said: “If there's a giant can of ketchup that they didn't use, like bulk quantities, we take that too because if you think about it, what happens once (the) big prize goes away, that place closes and it doesn't. “They want to store things that are likely to expire.”
Food Rescue US – South Florida does the same thing during football season, like when the Dolphins don't play at home for two weeks. Bowen said: “It depends a lot on whether they will be able to use it soon. Can you freeze it and then use it? Or is it something you just don't plan on using in the near future to keep?
Food requirements
They also can't rescue all the food on campus.
Food Rescue US will not accept hot food, Bowen said. It needs to be refrigerated and chilled, so they don't start their F1 operations until the Monday after the race weekend. Food should also be stored in sealed containers labeled with the food and the date it was packaged.
However, the organization and the chefs also respect other guidelines, such as ServSafe (which provides food and alcohol safety training) and Bill Emerson's Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. This federal law Basically, it “allows any food donated in good faith to be free of liability,” Bowen said.
When it comes to who gets surplus food first, Bowen says he will “try to support homeless shelters first because they have the ability to store and freeze trays and trays and trays of food.” He primarily works with four larger shelters, all of which can reheat food and safely handle large amounts of food.
The remaining food will be divided among smaller food containers, which typically do not have full kitchens like homeless shelters or the ability to reheat food. They will often receive produce and non-perishable goods because they are “a little more stable and can be distributed simply as groceries.”
A look at the big picture
Food insecurity remains a global problem, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. In Florida, there is little affordable housing and gas and food prices continue to rise, Bowen said.
“I think people who now identify as food insecure may be people who never identified as food insecure before COVID,” he added. “The statistics are staggering. Forty percent of all food is wasted. However, I know that in the state of Florida, one in 10 say they go to bed hungry, and of those, one in five are children. So we're not doing a good job of feeding our own population, and part of that is giving them nutritious food as well.”
Therefore, Food Rescue US – South Florida focuses on bringing surplus food to underserved communities, specifically food deserts. These areas lack or have limited access to healthy, affordable foods. Bowen said: “They're shopping at the corner store. They don't have a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods in their backyard. They have a low-end supermarket or a bodega where they shop, and many of those who receive assistance have to stretch those dollars.”
Miami neighborhoods categorized as food desert hotspots include Little Haiti, Little Havana, Liberty City, Overtown and Miami Gardens, where Hard Rock Stadium is located and where the grand prix is held.
Rescuing surplus food not only helps feed underserved communities. It also helps reduce the amount of food waste in landfills, ultimately cushioning the long-term effects of climate change.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that food waste contributes significantly to climate change. According a recent report Quantifying methane emissions from U.S. landfills, researchers found that “approximately 58 percent of fugitive methane emissions (those released into the atmosphere) from municipal solid waste landfills come from food waste.” deposited in landfills”. When organic waste (including food waste) breaks down, it turns into methane, which POT has been described as “a powerful greenhouse gas” that “is the second largest contributor to climate warming after carbon dioxide (CO2).” Methane also comes from other sources, such as fossil fuels and agriculture, but diverting food from landfills can help reduce the impact on the climate, evidence from EPA research suggests.
F1 continues to say that sustainability is a high priority for the sport, and strives to become net zero carbon by 2030. Last month, it published its Impact Report, reporting that it reduced its carbon footprint by 13 percent between 2018 and 2022. and other charities is common practice at most F1 tracks, including the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which donates surplus rescued food to help local communities.
“Everything we can do, and anything anyone can do,” Bowen said, “will contribute to reversing climate change by keeping food out of landfills.”
Featured Photos: Ellen Bowen/Food Rescue USA-South Florida
