An initiative by a San Francisco-based organisation, which was also joined by actor Frieda Pinto, made sure that no leftover food was wasted at this year's Oscar ceremony.
Copia, an organisation that redistributes high-quality excess food from businesses and events to communities in need, partnered with Pinto to deliver the surplus food from the post-Oscar parties to those in need in Los Angeles.
Prior to the start of one of the biggest events in the world of cinema, Pinto posted a picture on her Instagram account saying, "So excited to be kicking off Oscar weekend with this fantastic initiative. This year #Copia and I team up with some of Oscar weekends biggest parties to recover excess food and deliver it to communities most in need in Los Angeles. #zerowaste #zerohunger Because this food is too good to be wasted. Thank you Women in Film for your incredible support."
Speaking to Vanity Fair about the initiative in February, Pinto had said, "Our aim is to ensure that no one goes hungry in our film and TV town of Los Angeles by recovering leftover foods from all of our big parties and events".
The "Slumdog Millionaire" actor, in another post later, said that over 800 people had been fed through the initiative. "Sharing excess food to feed our community is a No- Brainer."
Every year, hundreds of pounds of food is waste at the Oscar parties.
According to Salon, this year too, like all previous years, the menu at the Academy Awards Governor’s Ball was lavish- from rich short ribs to chilled soups, Parmesan funnel cakes to smoked Salmon "Oscar" statues and much more. This, even though it is well known that guests consume more champagne than food.
Chef Wolfgang Puck, who has been in charge of the food at the governor's ball for the last 23 years, has also been working with organisations such as LA Specialty and Chefs to End Hunger to distribute excess food to those in need.