Lens on Leadership: Adam Amontea
From our Board of Directors, to our Culinary Panel, to our Friends Advisory Board, we’re fortunate to count so many strong leaders among our lot! Every month, we introduce you to one of them.
This month it’s Adam Amontea, Lovin’ Spoonfuls’ board member and long-time supporter. He is the President of Cafco, a Boston-based construction management firm specializing in restaurant, hotel, residential and academic projects.
How did you first get introduced to Lovin’ Spoonfuls?
I knew of Ashley [Stanley] and had heard about Lovin’ Spoonfuls, but it wasn’t until the Tavern Road opening in 2013 when, Christopher Myers introduced me to Ashley, when I really learned about the Lovin’ Spoonfuls’ mission.
Why is it important to you to support Lovin’ Spoonfuls?
Growing up in the restaurant business and in a family where food was what brought us together, food has always been a big part of my life. Knowing that that so many people don’t have that same opportunity and Lovin’ Spoonfuls is helping to solve that is really important to me.
How have you involved your company in our work?
Cafco helped build Lovin’ Spoonfuls’ first office facility. Since then, we’ve been an annual sponsor of [Ultimate Tailgate], I’ve introduced several of our industry partners who have subsequently got involved, and I ran my first marathon in 2018 to raise money for team Lovin’ Spoonfuls. Most recently, due to the pandemic, we had to cancel our annual Cafco year in review party. We took what would’ve been our party budget and let our team choose from four different charities and allocated those funds accordingly. Lovin’ Spoonfuls was the leader chosen from the group!
What is it about this organization or the issue of wasted food that matters to you?
There’s an abundance of food being wasted and an abundance of food needed. It seems like a simple problem to solve, but it takes special organizations, like Lovin’ Spoonfuls, to actually facilitate bridging that gap. People are getting nutritious food that would have otherwise been wasted and at the same time we’re reducing the impact on our environment. A true win-win.
What are ways that you work to waste less food, either at home or in the workplace?
My family and I try to minimize food waste by meal planning, not over-buying and getting creative with ingredients that are close to expiring (i.e. freezing bananas for smoothies, making pesto with different greens, freezing sauces, etc.) It can be hard with busy lives and kids on the go, but we do our best.