French Failure: Summer Olympics Brings Food Shortage For Athletes

An extremely strange and concerning development has taken place just as the 2024 Summer Olympics are getting underway. There is a very little supply of perhaps the most important thing for all the athletes: food.

That is not a typo. Of all the things to have a shortage of, food would’ve been the last thought to cross anyone’s mind.

According to the chief executive of the British Olympic Association Andy Anson (h/t the NY Post), there are massively insufficient supplies of just about every food imaginable: chicken, eggs, and carbohydrates. It has gotten to the point where raw meat is being served.

Specifically for the British team, they had to send another chef to Paris because they have no interest in eating at the Olympic Village and were the most unhappy with what was being served.

Who Was Responsible For This Disaster At The Summer Olympics?

The food provider, Sodexo Live, understood the egregious error they have made and vow to make changes as soon as possible. “The caterer is working to increase our supplies to the restaurants in the athletes’ villages,” the company said in a statement.

As far as why this situation happened, a British athlete (who spoke anonymously) said, “They are saying the Games are more sustainable and there is way more plant-based food but sometimes if you go at peak times it’s challenging to even get a piece of chicken.”

History Repeats Itself At The Summer Olympics

Back in 2008, Jamaican track and field star Usain Bolt dealt with this exact same situation of a food shortage. When the Olympics were held in Beijing, China had multiple food mishaps particularly with contaminated milk products.

To solve this problem, Bolt had an unorthodox backup plan: chicken McNuggets. Over the 10 days of competition, he ate 100 McNuggets a day and drank a bottle of water. It will be interesting to see if any of this year’s athletes will have a similar regimen.