Fine Dining Complements of NASFT

NYC is a little more special this week now that the NASFT’s Summer Fancy Food Show has rolled into town. With exhibitors sharing delicacies like Key Lime Graham Gelato Squares, Goat Cheese and Pear Savory Tart, and Port Clyde Lobster Mac & Cheese, I welcome a break from my brown bag lunches.

But what’s truly special about the 56th Summer Fancy Food Show doesn’t come until its close this Tuesday. That’s when 250 City Harvest volunteers will move in to collect foods donated by the show’s exhibitors to help feed some of New York’s 1.5 million hungry. The show's coordinator anticipates a whopping 150,000 pounds of unopened perishable and shelf stable fare.

The annual donation is the single largest that City Harvest will receive all year. So it’s gotten very good at planning exactly where all the food will go, according to NASFT’s Ron Tanner. Many of the 600 agencies that City Harvest serves will stay open late on Tuesday so they can accept the donations.

Hot sauce might end up in a Caribbean community, meat will be added to soup served in soup kitchens and specialty cookies and other treats will make their way to various women’s shelters, Tanner said. For those accustomed to foods past their sell-by date, the upscale treats will provide a rare fine dining experience—likely the only one they'll have all year.