May 18, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC — May 18, 2004 — More than 269,000 pounds of food and beverages have been received by the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) following the 2004 Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Show and four other co-located events, providing for more than 150,000 meals for the city’s hungry men, women and children, according to information released today by the GCFD and FMI.

The FMI Show — one of the largest annual food trade events in the world — was recently held at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center, along with All Things Organic, the Fancy Food Show, the U.S. Food Export Showcase, and the United Produce EXPO & Conference.

More than 1.4 million pounds of food and beverages have been donated by the FMI Show since 1996, making it one of the largest annual GCFD contributors.

This year’s combined contribution from the FMI Show and the co-located events are considered by GCFD to be a record volume for a single donation from food trade shows. The food — which included milk, bread, produce, cereal, luncheon meats, cheese and hundreds of other products found in a typical supermarket — filled 29 trucks, including 19 refrigerated rigs provided by the GES Exposition Company.

“FMI is extremely pleased that we have been able to facilitate this generous contribution from companies exhibiting at our show and the shows hosted by our co-location partners,” said FMI President and CEO Tim Hammonds. “We look forward to continuing this longstanding tradition in the coming years.”

“Hunger and poverty continue to be pervasive issues in Chicago and across the United States,” declared GCFD Executive Director Mike Mulqueen. “Through product donations, food retailers and manufacturers have a convenient, safe and reliable way to channel food to hungry people that might otherwise be wasted. We are thrilled to accept this donation, as well as those that we receive throughout the year.”

Overall, U.S. supermarkets contribute several billion pounds of food and beverages to local food banks each year, making the food retail and wholesale industry one of the largest annual contributors to feeding the hungry.