For nearly two decades, the Islanders have been in partnership with Rock and Wrap It Up, a nonprofit that aims to reduce unnecessary food waste and fight poverty through its coordination to distribute food donations with various agencies.
Over the course of a 17-year partnership, the Islanders have worked closely with Rock and Wrap It Up to arrange pickups for leftover food from Nassau Coliseum throughout the NHL season. Via its established and vetted partnerships with various agencies, Rock and Wrap It Up is then able to provide the surplus of food to those in need in the local surrounding communities.
The Islanders and Rock and Wrap It Up plan to continue that initiative at UBS Arena where Delaware North has been selected to manage food and beverage services at the brand-new venue.
"Rock and Wrap it Up has been doing this for about 30 years," Syd Mandelbaum, Founder and CEO of Rock and Wrap It Up said. "We make sure that our partners have health certifications that are issued by local health municipalities with the intention that all of them are trained in food handling...One of our mottos is that we fight the poverty footprint and the carbon footprint simultaneously. We work to reduce both the carbon and poverty footprints by accepting and working with the Islanders and their food donations locally."
In addition to being a state-of-the-art facility, UBS Arena is proud to boast a wide variety of sustainable practices, including food and waste distribution.
"Because the Islanders are so sustainable and practice green strategies, Rock and Wrap It Up is able to give you - at any time during a season or when the season ends - statistics that will show you the value of your donation," Mandelbaum explained. "Those statistics will reflect how much greenhouse gas has been diverted by the food going to feed people instead of being thrown away, how many gallons of water are saved by food being consumed instead of by needing to be replaced, how many meals are generated from the food donation. All of these are given to you."
For more information or ways to get involved with Rock and Wrap It Up visit:
https://www.rockandwrapitup.org/
