At the International Boston Seafood Show on Sunday, SeaShare — a Bainbridge Island, Wash., nonprofit hunger-relief organization that links seafood companies to food banks nationwide — presented awards on the show floor, recognizing two companies for their continued support.
Tom Mazzetta (pictured), CEO of Mazzetta Co., received an award for donating 1 million meals in 2010, while Mark Palmer, president and CEO of Ocean Beauty Seafoods in Seattle, received an award for reaching 10 million donated meals over the past 12 years.
“The people we feed every day have the equivalent of our worst day every day,” said Palmer, after he accepted the award from John Garner of Trident Seafoods, SeaShare’s board president.
Jim Harmon, executive director of SeaShare, provided the 10 million-meal award to Ocean Beauty. “Thanks to Ocean Beauty Seafood, we’ve been able to do a lot more,” said Harmon, who pointed out that its work includes providing salmon patties to an afterschool program right here in Boston.
Palmer said helping SeaShare, which has been working with seafood companies to provide meals to people in need across the country for 18 years, made the 10 million meals possible because they know what it’s like to be in the industry.
“They’re fish people,” said Palmer. “They understand the problems you have. They make it really easy to donate.”
