- According to the Food Recovery Network, each year more than 140,000 pounds of surplus Super Bowl food goes to waste.
- To combat this, the Greater Lansing Food Bank is taking donations of unopened foods and drinks that will be distributed throughout our neighborhoods.
- The City of Lansing is also accepting unwanted food items from neighbors through their Food Scraps Drop-Off program which is picked up regularly and taken to a compost facility where the trash is turned into nutrient-rich soil.
- In the attached story, I spoke with representatives from both the Greater Lansing Food Bank and the City of Lansing to discuss these options
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Now that the Super Bowl Weekend has passed and the parties across our neighborhoods are over, some of our neighbors are asking "What should I do with all this leftover food?
I'm your Lansing neighborhood reporter Asya Lawrence here with options from the Greater Lansing Food Bank and the City of Lansing.
"As you're gathering with your friends, as you're celebrating, asking who's going to bring the buffalo chicken dip? Take some time to maybe give back to the community," said Kelly Miller, chief development officer at the Greater Lansing Food Bank.
Super Bowl Sunday is all about the friends, the football and of course, the food.
But as our neighbors turn the page, many fridges may remain full.
According to the Food Recovery Network, after last year's big game, more than 140,000 pounds of food went to waste.
"We try to get as many of those foods as possible," Miller said.
To help lower that number in 2025, the Greater Lansing Food Bank is ready to accept any and all unopened foods.
"Right now we're preparing and making sure we're ready for whatever comes our way," Miller said.
For neighbors who have unwanted leftovers or groceries that have already been opened, the city of Lansing has a solution for that as well.
"What it is is 5 convenient drop-off locations across the city where residents can drop off their unwanted food scraps. So anything that is food, doesn't matter what it is, can be put into the bins and we have it being picked up regularly and taken to a compost facility," said Lori Welch, City of Lansing's sustainability manager.
Lori Welch, the city of Lansing's sustainability manager, told me the city's new food scraps drop-off program is yet another way to ensure that unwanted foods are still used in a meaningful way which in this case can help create nutrient-rich soil.
"Just to remind folks whatever you prepared that went uneaten no matter what it is, it can be collected and dropped off," Welch said.
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