TOKYO Aug. 8 － The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games said on August 7, 2017, that Tokyo Olympic Village is likely to need approximately 600 tons of agricultural, forestry and fishery products to provide meals to Olympians. The committee has reached this number by adding up item-by-item estimates that include 13 tons of rice and grains and 19 tons of beef. It looked at the quantities of food offered at Olympics, Paralympics and other international tournaments in the past to make the forecast. However, the committee also pointed out that this number “is very likely to grow further.”
By item, the village is said to require 97 tons of bread or 240,000 loafs of 400-gram bread, and relatively smaller quantity, 13 tons, of rice. It may also need a lot of vegetables, 39 tons of cabbages and 37 tons of tomatoes in particular as main ingredients for the salad. The most popular meat is assumed to be chicken (51 tons) and the most popular fruits citrus fruits (20 tons).
The calculation is based on standard meal size of regular Japanese athletes. However, the 600 tons do not include processed food such as gyoza dumplings and spring rolls that training facilities at the village may procure for the athletes. Therefore, the village will very likely need more food than 600 tons.
The committee members met on the same day to discuss the results. Some pointed out that it’s important for the council to clarify what is needed and what is not and to make sure that such information is shared with food producers as they need to start preparing now.