What happens to post-race food that doesn't get eaten? Many socially responsible races have arrangements to deliver leftovers to food shelters. But what about items like orange slices and hunks of bananas, which, because they're cut, can't be donated?
As the Council for Responsible Sport reports, the Utica Boilermaker in upstate New York came up with an innovative solution after yesterday's race: It delivered 207 pounds of cut-up fruit to the Utica Zoo.
Paul Macenroe, who heads the sustainability efforts of the 11,000-person 15-K, told the Council for Responsible Sport, "We dropped off most of the food in the kitchen and took an assortment with us to the Children’s Zoo with a zoo educator and some animals and set up an education event."
Macenroe said that several hundred adults and children came by during the hour and a half he and his staff were at the zoo.
The Boilermaker is seeking certification from the Council for Responsible Sport, which recognizes endurance events for environmental and social responsibility efforts.