1. The upscale le tovers found a good home.
As the Summer Fancy Food Show closed its doors in New York City last week, the
association that put on the three-day event gave around 90,000 pounds of le tover foie
HOW SPECIALTY-FOOD PRODUCERS ARE WORKING
TO FIGHT HUNGER
BY ERNIE SMITH / JUL 7, 2014
Volunteers assist with gathering leftover food from the Jacob K. Javits Convention
Center in New York City. (via City Harvest's Facebook page)
With a large-scale post-event donation to food banks across New York
City and the launch of a new foundation, the Specialty Food Association
is using its members’ upscale feasts to help feed those who struggle to
make ends meet.

2. gras, gourmet cheeses, prosciutto, and chocolate to food pantries and community
programs throughout the city.
It was no
small
task, and
it
required
hundreds of volunteers, but the Specialty Food Association (SFA) had some help from
City Harvest, an antihunger nonpro t in the city that works with the association to
donate le tover tradeshow food every year. The volunteers scoured booths of the 2,700-
plus exhibitors at the expo, lling up six tractor-trailers with gourmet goods.
The upscale edibles are quite an upgrade for food pantry clients, who o ten struggle to
a ord even the most basic of meals, according to Matthew Reich, vice president of food
sourcing at City Harvest.
“For the people we serve in New York City every day, when they don’t have enough to
eat, we normally deliver potatoes, cabbage, onions, apples—a wide variety of fresh fruit
and vegetables; we normally don’t deliver $30-a-pound cheese or pate,” Reich told the
Associated Press. “So this is a treat for all.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
For SFA, the annual tradeshow donation is just a starting point for its hunger- ghting
e orts.
Last month the association announced the launch of a new foundation focused on
hunger relief. The Specialty Food Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonpro t, will work with
antihunger organizations to boost food-recovery e orts.
The association also plans to o er 10 grants to qualifying organizations and is accepting
We normally don’t deliver $30-a-pound cheese or pate.

3. letters of inquiry from grant seekers starting this month. (The initial grants, to be
awarded in December, will be funded by a gi t from SFA.) The new foundation will host
its rst event, Embrace Hunger Relief Day, on October 10 to draw more attention to the
issue.
“As part of its ‘Citizens of the World’ initiative, the Specialty Food Association wants to
give back in ways that make a di erence,” SFA President Ann Daw said in a news
release. “Our association’s core purpose is to serve our members, but as a community
that produces and sells food, we are also keenly aware that we can help impact these
two vital areas.”