FIFA is supporting the recovery and donation of surplus food from tournament venues in Kansas City
Pete’s Garden is the organisation responsible for repackaging the food and coordinating its distribution
“The World Cup has helped raise awareness about food waste,” says the founder
In the kitchen at Pete’s Garden, 10 volunteers carry out their tasks with Swiss precision, all with smiles on their faces. Some place portions of chicken into carefully labelled plastic containers, while others add servings of broccoli.
In the fridges, around 1,200 pounds of food is waiting to be packaged; some of it arrived from the FIFA Fan Festival™ late the previous evening. Timing is crucial to maintaining the cold chain: later that day, low-income families across Kansas City will be able to enjoy a family meal.
“Pete’s Garden is a not-for-profit organisation that provides free meals to families who need them. We work with businesses that prepare food in bulk and have a surplus. We take that food, repackage it and help distribute it,” explained Tamara Weber, founder and executive director of Pete’s Garden.
“When we learnt that Kansas City was going to be hosting the FIFA World Cup three years ago, we knew it would be an opportunity for food recovery. So, in a way, we’ve been planning for it,” said Weber, wearing a T-shirt commemorating the FIFA World Cup™ in the city.
Pete’s Garden is based in a church, and takes its name from Tamara’s father. “We had a big garden when I was growing up. And if you grow your own food, you don’t waste it. We also had dinner as a family every night. When my daughter had to do a school project on food waste, we realised how big an issue it was and set out to find a solution.”
The link between FIFA and Pete’s Garden for this vital sustainability initiative came about through the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL team whose stadium is hosting the FIFA World Cup matches.
However, unlike in some other Host Cities, Pete’s Garden receives surplus food from venues across the tournament, not just from the stadium. “We also receive food from the Fan Festival, the hotels where the national teams are staying, the watch parties and the joint operations centre in Kansas City.”
The kitchen may be a bit small, but the impact is huge. “This year we expect to redirect around 260,000 pounds of food, which is about 4,500 individual meals, or roughly 1,000 family dinners a week, assuming a family of four,” explained Weber.
Ahead of the World Cup, Weber estimated that Pete’s Garden would receive an additional 15,000 pounds of food. The organisation has already exceeded that figure. So far, it has redistributed more than 18,000 pounds and is on course to reach 20,000 pounds by the end of the competition. That will translate into around 16,500 additional meals, benefiting approximately 4,000 families.
But the tournament’s impact on tackling food waste goes beyond those numbers. “The World Cup has been game-changing for us, because it has helped raise awareness about food waste and the possible solutions we can put in place,” said Weber.
From the FIFA World Cup to the dining tables of Kansas City’s most disadvantaged families
“It’s great that FIFA has made it a point to make sure food isn’t wasted in Kansas City during the World Cup, and that it reaches families who almost certainly would not be able to make it to a match.”
Weber continued with a smile: “We hope they’re watching the matches and enjoying the food that came from Lionel Messi’s table! We literally picked up food from his birthday party! I like to think that we’re enabling more people from Kansas City to enjoy the World Cup and all the visitors coming to town.”