Food Donation Totals 156,500 Pounds The 2026 National Restaurant Association Show donated

156,500 pounds of food, kitchenware, supplies and operational materials to 35 agencies across four Illinois counties following the event's May 16-19 run at McCormick Place in Chicago. A large-scale food rescue effort generated 132 pallets of donated items from exhibitors, with Freeman supplying labor and trucking and Fight2Feed coordinating distribution.

Fight2Feed Partnership Expands Impact Fight2Feed, a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on food recovery

and hunger relief, distributed the recovered resources through its 22,000-square-foot donated kitchen space at McCormick Place. The organization supports communities addressing food insecurity, with 1 in 5 Chicago households experiencing food insecurity according to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. "2026 marks our fourth year collaborating with the National Restaurant Association Show and more than five and a half years partnering with OVG and the MPEA Sustainability Team at McCormick Place to reduce waste and transform surplus food into meaningful support for communities in need," said Jiwon McCartney, founder and CEO of Fight2Feed. "Together, we are proving that large-scale events can create measurable social and environmental impact through responsible recovery and redistribution efforts." Since February 2021, Fight2Feed has rescued more than 8 million pounds of food and served over 3 million meals across its programs in Chicago, Atlanta and Kansas City.

New Composting Initiative Diverts 176 Pounds of Waste For the first time,

McCormick Place introduced composting stations on the Show floor, enabling exhibitors to compost leftover food scraps at designated dishwashing stations. The initiative diverted 176 pounds of food waste from landfills and complemented the venue's existing sustainability infrastructure, which includes the Grind2Energy program, a rooftop composting garden and facility-wide LED lighting. "We were excited to introduce a new waste diversion initiative for exhibitors at this year's Show: composting," said Cullyn Doerfler, senior sustainability manager for McCormick Place. "We look forward to growing the program with the Show in the years ahead."

Additional Sustainability Measures The 2026 Show implemented several other waste-reduction initiatives: - Compostable food and beverage tableware throughout the event from OVG Hospitality

- New, easy-to-use recycle bins to help attendees separate recyclables from waste

- Digital-first resources, including mobile tools, QR-enabled signage and digital publications

- Sustainable event production practices by Freeman, including recyclable graphics and non-VOC inks The 2026 sustainability program was supported by Global Payments (Gold), Hoshizaki and Tork (Silver), and FinTitan, YesPac and Richlite Company (Bronze). "The foodservice industry understands the value of putting resources to good use," said Lisa Malikow, senior vice president for the Restaurant Show for Informa Connect Foodservice Group. "The donations contributed through Fight2Feed and the addition of composting this year show what's possible when exhibitors, partners and the venue work together to reduce waste and support local communities."

Why It Matters For restaurant operators and foodservice professionals, the Show's efforts

underscore growing industry expectations around sustainability and community responsibility. Large-scale trade events increasingly face pressure to demonstrate measurable environmental and social impact, making waste diversion and food recovery standard best practices rather than differentiators.

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Written by FBM Publications Editors