78,315 Pounds of Food Donated to City Harvest by Specialty Food Association Summer Fancy Food Show Exhibitors

NEW YORK, July 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ —  More than 2,400 specialty food makers showcased the newest and best in specialty food with buyers, distributors, media, and influencers during the Specialty Food Association’s (SFA) 68th Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center from June 23-25. On the final day of the Show, SFA worked with 125 City Harvest volunteers to rescue 95 pallets totaling more than 78,000 pounds of food from the Show. This entire surplus was made available to New Yorkers living with food insecurity.

SFA and City Harvest have partnered on the Summer Fancy Food Show food recovery program since 1997, with Summer Fancy Food Show exhibitors having donated more than 2.1 million pounds of food to City Harvest during the partnership.

“New York City and New Yorkers are incredibly important to the Specialty Food Association, and our team is honored to have this opportunity with City Harvest to give back to the city that hosts us year after year,” said Phil Robinson, senior vice president of Member Development at SFA. “SFA is always working to make Fancy Food Shows more sustainable, and we’re grateful to all the City Harvest volunteers who helped SFA and our members ensure that unused food from this year’s Show did not go to waste, but rather to the people of New York City in need.”

“Every year, the Summer Fancy Food Show is one of City Harvest’s most important food rescues,” said Jenna Harris, Associate Director of Donor Relations and Supply Chain at City Harvest. “Right now, visits to New York City food pantries are up more than 75% compared to pre-pandemic levels. The need for food in our city is extremely high, and this donation allows our neighbors experiencing food insecurity to have high-quality food on their tables. We are very grateful for our ongoing partnership with the Specialty Food Association and all of the Fancy Food Show vendors who so generously support our work.”

The next Fancy Food Shows are the 2025 Winter Fancy Food Show, January 19-21 in Las Vegas and the 2025 Summer Fancy Food Show, June 29-July 1 in New York City.

About City Harvest:
City Harvest is New York’s first and largest food rescue organization, collecting perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste to help feed the millions of New Yorkers who struggle to put meals on their tables. In over 40 years serving New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity, we have rescued more than one billion pounds of fresh, nutritious food and delivered it—free of charge—to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens, community partners, and our own Mobile Markets® across the five boroughs. This year, we will rescue and distribute more than 77 million pounds of nutritious food to our neighbors in need. By redirecting that food to families, we will also prevent the equivalent of more than 20 million kilograms of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Named one of America’s Top 100 Charities by Forbes, City Harvest also works alongside our community partners to build their capacity, expand nutrition education, and advocate for systems change through effective public policy. Since our founding in 1982, City Harvest has always been there to feed our city—one day, one meal, one New Yorker at a time. To learn more, please visit cityharvest.org

About the Specialty Food Association 
The Specialty Food Association (SFA) was founded in 1952 and is the not-for-profit trade association of the $207-billion specialty food industry. Representing more than 3,600 businesses worldwide, SFA champions industry participation and success for a diverse community of makers, buyers, importers, distributors, and service providers by developing resources, information, education, and events that celebrate innovation and inclusivity. SFA owns and operates the Fancy Food Shows as well as the sofi™ Awards, which have honored excellence in specialty food and beverage annually since 1972. SFA also produces the e-newsletter SFA News Daily, the Trendspotter Panel annual predictions and Fancy Food Show reports, the State of the Specialty Food Industry Report, and Today’s Specialty Food Consumer research. Find out more https://www.specialtyfood.com/ online and connect with SFA on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

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SOURCE Specialty Food Association