The Super Bowl is more than just a football game — it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. In Las Vegas, this year’s host city, the financial impact of this one event was more than $1 billion, according to Business Insider. Outside of the city, businesses pay about $7 million for 30 seconds of airtime for a commercial slot during the game, and even your local grocery store and sports bar see an increase in revenue directly because of the game, with Americans spending over $17 billion to stock up on snacks, drinks, and merch for the game.
As vice president of culinary for Levy Restaurants, De La Cruz oversees food services during major sporting events like Super Bowl LVIII.
The Miami-based executive flies to stadiums to make sure everything is perfect for the big game from the hot dogs to the lobster tails at the luxury boxes. In total, she and her team are responsible for about 80 percent of the food served at major events like the Kentucky Derby, the Grammys, and the Super Bowl.
But, after the champagne is popped and Taylor Swift and her friends leave the stadium, De La Cruz and her team get down to work to help feed thousands of people in the community.
The chef and hospitality executive — with the help of a network of local food rescue organizations — has put together a way to salvage thousands of pounds of uneaten sandwiches, cookies, apples, and chips which are distributed to local food banks and organizations.
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After the Super Bowl, De La Cruz, along with workers and an army of volunteers, organized and carefully packed up tons of good, unused food to distribute to local churches, food banks, shelters, and community kitchens.
In each city, De La Cruz works with a local organization. In Las Vegas, it was Three Square Food Bank. The food bank, which works with Feeding America, then found ten local rescue missions willing to help, adhering to a rigid schedule to ensure all food is packed and distributed in a timely manner and retains its freshness.
On the first day — right after the game, cooked food is sorted, packed, and sent to help feed local people in need. The second day is reserved for produce, and on the third day dry food — like chips and breads — are packed and distributed.
When I spoke with De La Cruz, she said that from the leftover food from the 55,000 people who attended this year’s Super Bowl, about 25 pallets of food was packed and distributed to people in Las Vegas, not including the dry product, that was still being counted and weighed.
She said the Super Bowl wants the number so they can get the next stadium onboard with the program. “The NFL knows we can do this in every host city,” says De La Cruz, adding that she’s proud of her company, Levy, for believing in the program. “It was major that I found a company that allowed me to focus on this. It’s part of the fabric of who we are,” she says.
De La Cruz doesn’t stop there. Aiming for zero waste, food that’s not up to standards for human consumption goes to local farms. “We have a pick-up program for pig farms. Then anything leftover that can be mixed with paper becomes compost,” she says.
De La Cruz gives credit to her friend Ellen Schmertz Bowen from Food Rescue U.S. South Florida for helping her get started. “Ellen and I met and it was love at first sight. We have probably rescued more than 100,000 pounds of food together. We started doing big rescue at the Hard Rock Stadium, then we moved on to major hotels and grocers.” De La Cruz said that, in Miami, Whole Foods even donated a refrigerated truck to help food rescue efforts.
In the end, De La Cruz says it’s all about the people you meet and the people you help. “It’s about putting that connection back into the world. It’s about having a warm meal. It’s almost like giving some dignity to someone. We can’t stop some things that happen in this world, but we can give back.”
The hospitality vice president said that, for her, the work can be emotional but fulfilling. The first time she volunteered at Lotus House women’s shelter, she sobbed when she got into her car. “I have my kids and I could relate to these moms and their kids. The world goes by so fast and we should take every minute to realize how lucky we are.” After that, De La Cruz makes sure to always try to include desserts with the meals. “They’re so important.”
Right now, De La Cruz is trying to share the knowledge she’s learned with other professionals to also participate in food rescue. “I am challenging myself to create a movement where we will be rescuing hundreds of thousands of pounds of food throughout the country. This is part of my purpose.”
