As athletes, spectators, and workers at the Paris 2024 Olympics enjoy the Games, organizers are ensuring that uneaten food doesn’t go to waste. Instead, surplus food is being redirected to those in need throughout the French capital, as part of the event’s broader commitment to sustainability and reducing food waste.

The initiative is a key element of the Paris Games’ pledge to be more environmentally conscious. Organizers have incorporated several green practices, from using reusable dishes in the athletes’ village to constructing venues with recycled materials. Now, food donations from the Olympics are offering both a practical solution to waste and a model that future Olympic Games and large-scale events might emulate.

“This is part of the legacy that we’ve been working on since the beginning,” said Georgina Grenon, who leads the effort to halve the Games’ carbon footprint compared to previous Olympics, such as London 2012 and Rio 2016. Grenon noted that while food waste isn’t a major source of emissions for the Olympics, the organizers wanted to demonstrate leadership on the issue. “We’ve been working to try to change the way in which these Games are organized, both for us but also for other events. And food waste is one of those things.”

In collaboration with three nonprofit groups, including Le Chainon Manquant and the Banque Alimentaire de Paris et d’Ile-de-France, Paris 2024 organizers have set up a system to collect and redistribute uneaten food from Olympic sites. About 40,000 meals are served daily to athletes from over 200 countries and territories, as well as workers and guests. While some athletes have voiced concerns about the selection of food, many have praised the quality and the fact that it’s free.

Valerie de Margerie, president of Le Chainon Manquant, emphasized the importance of these donations given the growing food insecurity in France. “There are 10 million people in France who don’t have enough to eat,” she said, adding that the country wastes 10 million tons of food annually. “We cannot continue to allow our trash cans to overflow with quality products while there are people nearby who are unable to feed themselves adequately.”

Le Chainon Manquant has been collecting uneaten food from major venues like the Roland Garros tennis stadium since 2014, expanding over time to include other prominent sites such as Bercy Arena and Stade de France—both of which are now being used for the Olympics. The organization has mobilized 100 volunteers during the Games to ensure food gets from Olympic venues to those who need it, often within hours. Volunteers arrive at the sites as early as 6 a.m. to collect unsold sandwiches, salads, caterers’ food, and canteen meals, quickly distributing them to various charities serving families, students, and homeless individuals. So far, the group has collected about 9 tons of food, 20% of which is fruit. Once the Olympics conclude, they will also collect raw foods that won’t keep until the Paralympic Games, which start on August 28.

The Banque Alimentaire de Paris et d’Ile-de-France has also been working late into the night, collecting leftover food from the athletes’ village and other Olympic sites. Their team returns to warehouses where volunteers sort through tubs of fruit salad, shredded carrots, hummus, and other perishables, preparing them for distribution. By Tuesday, the food bank had collected 30 tons of food since the start of the Games, according to warehouse manager Nicolas Dubois.

Some of the collected food ends up in places like a grocery store in Epinay-sur-Seine, a northern suburb of Paris, where deeply discounted goods are offered to those in need. Jeanne Musaga, a 64-year-old retiree, shops at the store to stretch her small pension. “For those of us who don’t earn much, for a family that’s suffering, we come here to get food for the month,” she explained. “Instead of buying from an expensive shop, we pay less here.”

Musaga, who receives 900 euros ($984) a month in retirement payments, spends more than half of that on rent. For her, and many others in similar situations, the discounted food provided through these Olympic donations is a lifeline.

Through their food donation initiative, Paris Olympics organizers are not only helping to feed those in need but also setting a powerful precedent for future global events. By reducing waste and contributing to the local community, they are demonstrating that sustainability and social responsibility can go hand-in-hand.