More than 30,000 pounds of NFL Draft leftovers have been rescued by nonprofit 412 Food Rescue, which scoops up fresh surplus food and redirects it to people who need it most.
Josh Weiland, 412 Food Rescue’s vice president of operations, said even more food is expected to be recovered following the three-day event, which drew record-breaking crowds.
In March, the Pittsburgh Local Organizing Committee — made up of government officials as well as business and university leaders who helped plan the draft — outlined the city’s Environmental & Sustainability Legacy Plan. The plan included a series of initiatives, such as expanding the area’s urban tree canopy and food recovery efforts.
On Tuesday morning, 412 Food Rescue, based in Bakery Square, collected another 24 pallets of food to be processed and distributed, Weiland said.
Last year, the U.S. Open golf championship was held at the Oakmont Country Club. Following the event, 412 Food Rescue saved about 55,000 pounds of food.
Visit Pittsburgh expects an estimated 60,000 pounds to be rescued by the time draft-related efforts are complete, Jerad Bachar, president and CEO of Visit Pittsburgh, said in an emailed statement.
Final breakdowns — including the number of people fed, how much food was collected and how much was perishable — were not yet available as of Tuesday. Food was still being sourced from draft vendors, caterers for special events and restaurants and hotels both inside and outside the event footprint, Weiland said.
412 Food Rescue began reaching out to businesses outside the footprint after hearing that many had prepared for more demand than they received during the three-day event, Weiland said.
Weiland said he expects to have more concrete numbers by Thursday or Friday.
City officials say the tree replanting process will take longer, with the first plantings not expected until spring 2027.
When the Environmental & Sustainability Legacy Plan was first outlined, it stated that Pittsburgh’s Forestry Division would oversee the planting of up to 300 new trees following the draft.
The new trees are expected to replace the 57 removed during draft preparation along West General Robinson Street and Chuck Noll Way near Acrisure Stadium.
Pittsburgh City Forester Lisa Ceoffe said not all of the new trees will be planted along those streets — or even in the North Shore.
The Forestry Division plans to use an “inch-for-inch” planting method, in which a removed public tree is replaced by one or more new trees whose total trunk diameter equals or exceeds that of the removed tree.
Ceoffe said it would be impossible to plant 300 trees in the area where the 57 were removed. Instead, the city will coordinate with communities to plant trees in neighborhoods across Pittsburgh.
As of Tuesday, the Forestry Division had not identified which communities will receive the trees, though some groups have expressed interest, Ceoffe said.
Separate from the city’s efforts, the Pittsburgh Local Organizing Committee has also partnered with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to plant an additional 500 trees across the city and county as part of the draft’s environmental legacy.
Some of the targeted areas include Homewood, Beltzhoover, Hazelwood, Garfield, McKeesport, Clairton and Penn Hills.