353: Turning Surplus Prepared Food From Events Into Safe, Shared Meals

Last year, Les Dames NC selected Food Connection as one of three beneficiaries of our annual holiday cookie sale—and this conversation is exactly why.

This is the third interview in my series spotlighting organizations that are feeding our communities with food that already exists… including food coming straight from events, catering kitchens, and conference centers.

I'm sitting down with Marisha MacMorran, Executive Director of Food Connection, an Asheville-based nonprofit that rescues surplus prepared food and redistributes it to neighbors across Western North Carolina. This isn't about scraps or leftovers—it's about smoked brisket, roasted vegetables, crab cakes, veggie couscous… food that was cooked with care and deserves a second purpose.

Food Connection connects those with too much food to those without enough—keeping hundreds of tons of fresh food out of landfills while delivering hundreds of thousands of heat-and-serve meals with dignity and choice.

If you've ever wondered what should happen to food after an event—or how your F&B decisions can support the communities we host meetings in—this is a conversation you'll want to be part of.

Because feeding people is about more than food. It's about connection, dignity, and showing up for one another.

What questions do you have about rescuing surplus food from events?