Olympic Dining by the Numbers

Numbers play a key role in the Olympics — codifying the scores, the rankings and so much more. Facts and figures are also interesting to parse when it comes to Olympic food.

Here are a few numerals to know about what, how and where athletes around the world will eat in the Olympic village at the Rio de Janeiro Games this summer:

2: number of (American) football fields the Olympic athletes village dining room will equal in size

1: number of football fields the kitchen for that dining hall will equal, size-wise

60,000: number of meals the village kitchen will prepare for athletes daily

460,000: number of pounds of raw ingredients delivered daily to produce those meals

4 million: number of biodegradable plates on which meals will be served

18,000: number of athletes, coaches and staff members who will eat their meals in the dining room

31: number of apartment towers in which athletes will be housed in the Olympic village

10,160: number of bedrooms they will occupy

5: number of buffets from which diners may choose (Brazilian, Asian, International, Pasta and Pizza, and Halal and Kosher)

40: varieties of exotic Brazilian fruits on offer at the dining hall (caju, acai, carambola, caqui, goiaba, maracuja and more)

20: number of food testings the Rio Olympics’ director of food and beverages, Marcello Cordeiro, and his staff will hold to prepare the final menus before the Games begin on Aug. 5

20: number of chefs on Cordeiro’s staff

0: amount of steroids or ingredients that could cause an athlete to test positive for doping that the food will contain. “To assure that our ingredients are free of steroids and other kinds of chemicals, we are making sure our suppliers have all the certificates that are demanded by our national food and drug agency,” Cordeiro told the Associated Press. “People don’t know how complex it is to put out safe food. We know that this is a very sensitive subject that could influence a result or an athlete’s medal.”

100: Percent we are excited to watch the games!

Photo courtesy of iStock

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