Twelve of Portland’s most beloved chefs, including Gregory Gourdet of Kann, Dani Morales and Jose “Lalo” Camarena of Republica Hospitality, Tyler Malek of Salt & Straw, John Karangis of Shake Shack, Heather Kintler of Normandie, Elsy Dinvil of Creole Me Up, Dan and Elise Gold of Sebastianos, Gabriel Pascuzzi of Mama Bird, Jewan Manuel of Plant Based Papi, and Louis Lin of Xiao Ye, are uniting in support of Urban Gleaners, a local nonprofit focused on reducing food waste and food insecurity in Portland, Oregon. The organization is hosting a Summer twist on their annual Supper event on August 25th, where chefs will be preparing small plates from gleaned and upcycled ingredients showcasing what the potentials and possibilities are with food that is considered “waste”.
Urban Gleaners is committed to eliminating barriers to accessing nourishing food and creating a resilient food system that recognizes food as a fundamental right in a just society. The organization collects fresh, delicious food that would otherwise go to waste and delivers it to those in need. Sourcing from a diverse and growing list of donors—including restaurants, grocery stores, corporate campuses, event sites, colleges and universities, farms, and food wholesalers—Urban Gleaners rescues over 25,000 pounds of food per week and operates 42 free food sites across Multnomah and Washington counties. This year Urban Gleaners began a brand new Farm Gleaning Program where it harvested fresh produce straight from the field. This new program allows Urban Gleaners to provide the highest quality produce to its Free Food Market attendees while simultaneously supporting local farmers and the health and vitality of their fields and crops.
“The Summer Supper is not only an opportunity to experience great food, but it’s also a chance to support a cause, learn about food waste and sustainability, and raise awareness,” says Nico Niebes, Executive Director. “If we eliminated food waste, we could feed our whole country three times over.”
Summer Supper is an all-ages, family friendly event with an 800 person capacity. All proceeds benefit Urban Gleaners. Tickets can be purchased at urbangleaners.kindful.com/e/summer-supper, and donations to the organization can be made via urbangleaners.org/donate/.
