COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC) is taking meals intended for the Arnold Sports Festival and redirecting them to aid tornado victims in Nashville.
After the coronavirus COVID-19 prompted the Ohio Department of Health to prohibit general spectators from attending the event in the usual fashion, the GCCC had to reconsider what it would do with the food that normally accommodates over 200,000 people who attend the Arnold Sports Festival.
“While we were waiting for the press conference to start on Tuesday regarding the Arnold Sports Festival, all the news coverage was about the tornado in Nashville,” Molly Dale, general manager for Levy, the GCCC’s food service provider said in a press release. “We thought that if the Arnold Sports Festival situation unfolds the way we think it will, we wanted something positive to happen to the food that could not be repurposed.”
A refrigerated truck departing from the GCCC will arrive Saturday morning at Nissan Stadium in Nashville where the food will be served to more than 2,000 first responders.
The donation is estimated to weigh more than a ton and includes chicken salad, sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, mixed green salad, fresh fruit, yogurt, vegetables, rice, chips and bottled water.
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