Save for maybe Thanksgiving and the movie theater, there are few places people like to chow down more than ballparks, arenas and stadiums. Sports fans love to eat. It’s tradition.
But when 22,000 Blackhawks fans gather for a game at the United Center, perhaps the furthest thing from their minds is what’s in that Polish sausage or double bacon cheeseburger, and where the waste it creates is headed afterward.
As it turns out, the answers to those questions have changed a lot in recent years, as sports venues nationwide have made greener concessions processes a key piece of their sustainability efforts.
“We are seeing the start of a significant cultural and marketplace shift towards environmentally intelligent food at sports venues,” Allen Hershkowitz, co-founder and president of the Green Sports Alliance, said in a statement.
The Green Sports Alliance, a nonprofit group of which many of Chicago’s teams and stadiums are members, assembled in Chicago earlier this year to highlight nationwide efforts to make game day greener.
Fans probably won’t notice those efforts, but they probably can rest easy knowing their favorite teams are going greener—and saving some green in the process.
Waste reduction
According to Environmental Protection Agency data, the U.S. generated 36 million tons of food waste in 2011 alone, with only 4 percent of that being utilized for composting. Sports teams and venues have started doing their part to improve that figure.
Soldier Field recently launched a pilot program to compost from its main kitchen, where Aramark already was tracking food waste. Soldier Field Director of Operations Bill Shaw said the hope is that it grows to include catering and all concessions.
“That was something Aramark was really on board with,” Shaw said.
Levy Restaurants provides concessions at Wrigley Field, the United Center and suites at U.S. Cellular Field. The company has a wide-ranging plan to cut down on waste, detailed in a report by the University of Chicago’s Sustainable Chicago Sports Project.
First off, all the napkins and food carriers used are made from recycled and compostable materials. Going deeper, Levy recycles all used cooking oil from Chicago’s stadiums, with some of that being used to produce biofuels.
Efforts with more tangible impact come in the form of food recovery. Tom Funk, Levy’s vice president of concessions, said the company donated 535,000 pounds of leftover food nationwide in 2014, food that once would likely have been tossed out after going unsold at a game.
Local sourcing
Before stadium food creates any waste, it has to come from somewhere. Lately, its journey to your seat has been getting shorter as teams have committed to locally sourced ingredients; call it “farm-to-bleachers.”
According to a Green Sports Alliance report, some teams are getting smarter about menu design and planning, which includes adapting to the local supply of certain ingredients.
Currently, all of Levy’s 100-plus U.S. sports and entertainment venues source at least some food locally.
In one hyper-local example, Levy, the Chicago Botanic Garden and Chicago-based Midwest Foods partner to provide fresh produce for U.S. Cellular Field. The upside to such practices, Funk says, is environmental as well as financial.
“We believe care for the environment and meeting business goals do not have to be mutually exclusive,” he said.
While many people still aren’t convinced about the need to be more environmentally friendly, it’s hard to imagine a sports franchise anywhere not interested in saving some money by doing it.
Recycling
There is perhaps no simpler element to sustainability than recycling, and stadiums are trying to make it easier for fans to be a part of that process.
Soldier Field’s recycling efforts were part of what helped it become the first North American stadium to earn LEED certification in 2012.
“We recycle just about everything you can think of in the building,” Shaw said. “We even recycle our sod from the field.”
The building is also a pour-only facility, Shaw said, which means every beer can emptied into a cup for fans is automatically collected and recycled by the venue, taking the responsibility of doing it off potentially intoxicated fans.
In that way and others, more teams are taking steps so fans can enjoy that jumbo helmet full of nachos guilt-free on game day.
THE DIGITS
15-30 percent
Approximately 15 to 30 percent of the food served at concession stands in Chicago venues is sourced within 300 miles of the city.
100 percent
All Levy Restaurants venues use food carriers and napkins made from recycled or biodegradable/compostable material. Levy provides concessions at Wrigley Field, the United Center and suites at U.S. Cellular Field.
300
During Bulls and Blackhawks season, the United Center donates more than 300 pounds of leftover food per month to the Salvation Army. Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field make similar donations.
735,000 pounds
Estimated amount of leftover food Levy Restaurants donates annually
Sources: Sustainable Chicago Sports Project at The University of Chicago, Levy Restaurants
Tyler Lockman is a RedEye contributor. @TylerLockman
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