San Diego Padres Pave The Way For Sustainable Food

It’s 7:30 a.m. on game day at Petco Park in downtown San Diego and the food trucks have just started rolling in.As part of his daily routine, Petco Park executive chef Carlos Vargas awaits the fresh produce.During home games, local growers like Suzie’s Farm and Melissa’s Produce, based out of Los Angeles, make daily deliveries of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Petco Park executive chef Carlos Vargas inspects a fresh bag of lettuce on a Melissa's Farm produce truck, Aug. 17, 2015.

“See the quality of the raspberries that we have in here? It’s just unbelievable how good and sweet they are,” said Vargas after tasting one of the raspberries.In late June, the San Diego Padres and concession partner Delaware North were recognized as“Champions of Game Day Food” in a joint report by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Green Sports Alliance.The report named the Padres and Petco Park as one of the top locations for stadium eats in the country for their sustainability efforts and food quality.Allen Hershkowitz, president for Green Sports Alliance, said the Padres are setting an example for other stadiums.“The Padres are providing valuable lessons not only to professional sports venues throughout North America, but actually professional sports venues throughout the world,” Hershkowitz said.More than 95 percent of the San Diego Padres concession stands and restaurants get their food from Southern California.Read the full article from KPBS.