LAS VEGAS, Jan. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/
-- Today, MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), in
partnership with Three Square Food Bank, announced a new
standardized program for safe collection, preservation and service
of surplus banquet food that will help reduce hunger in Southern
Nevada.
This new program, in which MGM Resorts donates surplus (prepared
but unserved) hot banquet food to Three Square, is expected to
provide 800,000 nutritious meals by 2020 to people combating
hunger.
Food insecurity is one of the most serious public health
challenges in the United States,
according to statistics from the United States Department of
Agriculture. One in seven Americans is unable to meet their
regular, nutritional needs to sustain a healthy life. Over 279,000
people struggle with hunger in Southern
Nevada, including 109,000 children.
"Food insecurity is an issue that means a lot to me, and to the
55,000 MGM Resorts employees who live and work in Southern Nevada," said Phyllis A. James, Chief Diversity &
Corporate Responsibility Officer of MGM Resorts. "Those who
struggle with hunger in this community are our friends and our
neighbors. We care about them. I believe those in privileged
positions have a moral obligation to lend a helping hand to help
pull up those in need. This new development gives us another tool
in our collective community arsenal against hunger."
The surplus banquet food program consists of the collection of
prepared but unserved hot, surplus banquet food from MGM Resorts'
properties. Three Square freezes the food through blast-chilling
technology, then stores it until a community need arises. This
gives hunger relief agencies the ability to order prepared entrees
and menu items from Three Square, incorporating them into their
ongoing meal planning.
The pilot program began at ARIA Resort & Casino in 2016.
Since then, a team of banquet chefs, food safety experts and others
collaborated to develop protocols – emphasizing proper food safety
principles – for large-scale recovery of this type of food,
which otherwise would be wasted. In approximately a year's time,
more than 100,000 pounds of food – over 80,000 meals – were
donated.
As part of its program announcement, MGM Resorts also
highlighted its award of a two-year, $768,000 grant to Three Square to help the
nonprofit create an infrastructure that will allow this program to
expand to the company's major convention resorts, including
Bellagio, MGM Grand, The Mirage and Mandalay Bay. The program will
continue at ARIA.
"We are often asked what Las
Vegas hotels do with their leftover food," said Brian Burton, President & CEO of Three
Square Food Bank. "Today, we have a consistent, scalable answer to
that question, one that will feed more food insecure people in
Southern Nevada. Combating food
insecurity and hunger is a collaborative effort. MGM Resorts is
helping to establish a successful, standardized process that others
will be able to follow."
MGM Resorts and Three Square have developed standard operating
procedures to ensure the safe, consistent and replicable collection
of surplus banquet food. Over the next few months, those best
practices will be available to others, in hopes of inspiring
similar action across the hospitality industry.
This surplus banquet food donation program is part of MGM
Resorts' long-standing food waste reduction efforts, and
demonstrates the company's commitment to strengthen the communities
in which it operates.
Fighting food insecurity is one of the company's philanthropic
areas of emphasis. MGM Resorts played a central role in the
founding of Three Square in 2007. MGM Resorts' Las Vegas employees have donated more than 3.3
million pounds of canned food to Three Square since 2010. Company
employees support the food bank's efforts year round through MGM
Resorts Foundation donations and employees' volunteer efforts.
Since the founding of Three Square, MGM employees have volunteered
more than 47,000 hours in support of the non-profit's mission.
MGM Resorts also participates in other aid to Three Square, such
as Restaurant Week. To ensure that school children who struggle
with hunger received meals through the summer months, in each of
the past two years, 2016 and 2017, MGM Resorts gave a $50,000 grant to fund Three Square's Back Pack
for Kids program.
About MGM Resorts International
MGM Resorts
International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment
company with national and international locations featuring
best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and
conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment
experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and
retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive, iconic experiences
through its suite of Las
Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts portfolio encompasses
27 unique hotel offerings including some of the most recognizable
resort brands in the industry. The company is expanding throughout
the U.S. and around the world, developing MGM Springfield in
Massachusetts and MGM COTAI in
Macau, and debuting the first
international Bellagio branded hotel in Shanghai. The 77,000 global employees of MGM
Resorts are proud of their company for being recognized as one of
FORTUNE® Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies®. For more
information visit us at www.mgmresorts.com.
About Three Square Food Bank
Established in 2007 to
provide hunger relief, Three Square Food Bank offers wholesome,
nutritious food to nonprofit and faith-based organizations, schools
and feeding sites that serve a wide range of Southern Nevadans. A
national model project inspired by Founder Eric Hilton with a grant provided by the Conrad
N. Hilton Foundation, Three Square is a community collaborative
partnership with businesses, nonprofit agencies, food distributors,
higher education institutions, the Clark
County School District, governmental entities, the media and
thousands of volunteers to efficiently and effectively work
together to serve those in our community struggling with hunger.
Three Square currently provides more than 36 million meals, the
equivalent of more than 44 million pounds of food and grocery
product – per year through a network of more than 1,600 community
partners. Three Square is a member of the Feeding America
network of food banks. For additional information visit
threesquare.org. For the latest news and events on Three Square,
visit Facebook and follow them on Instagram and Twitter
(@threesquarelv).
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SOURCE MGM Resorts International