The mystery of the uneaten lobsters and steaks from the White House Correspondents' Dinner is solved
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Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images 2026-04-27T23:38:08.152Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.
Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. The annual press dinner was canceled after a shooting on Saturday night. It was initially unclear what happened to the 2,600 unserved meals of lobster and steak. The host said Monday that the hotel donated them to two shelters for abused women. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. What happens to unused event food? Why was the dinner canceled? How do hotels manage food waste? How do shelters benefit from donations? What is the White House Correspondents' Dinner? The lobster and steak dinners that went uneaten after a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this week did not go to waste. Loading audio narration...
The Washington Hilton, the site of the annual gala, donated the 2,600 meals to two shelters for abused women and their children.That's according to Weijia Jiang, the CBS News correspondent and president of the journalists' association that throws the so-called "nerd prom." "They freeze dried the steak and lobster for longer shelf life," Jiang said in a post on X on Monday. "HUGE thank you to the staff that worked through the night under terrible circumstances."The Hilton donated the ~2600 dinners that went unserved at WHCD. They freeze dried the steak and lobster for longer shelf life before giving them to 2 shelters for abused women and children. HUGE thank you to the staff that worked through the night under terrible circumstances.— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) April 27, 2026 A Hilton spokesperson said in a statement that "the hotel regularly donates unused food from events to support local organizations." "Food from this weekend is being donated to our local community partners, and remaining produce items were composted and will be sent to farms for agricultural use," the spokesperson said.After the shooting, social media was abuzz with people wondering what would happen to the sumptuous suppers slated to be served to the media and political elite. A member of TMZ's new Washington bureau went to the hotel on Monday in search of the leftovers, going so far as to inspect some dumpsters for signs of them.The folks at the White House Correspondents' Dinner all left without injury, but thousands of lobsters weren't so lucky. 🦞 https://t.co/x1aKc7EhdI pic.twitter.com/KyBcdKTTZv— TMZ (@TMZ) April 27, 2026 The $350-a-seat dinner was halted Saturday night after shots rang out during the salad course while President Donald Trump was onstage for his first appearance at the event while in office. Prosecutors say Cole Allen, 31, traveled from his home in California to the nation's capital and checked into the Hilton with two guns and three knives before trying to crash the party and kill Trump.A Secret Service agent was shot but saved by his protective vest, and Allen was arrested at the scene. Anyone affected by abuse and in need of support can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233). Advocates are available 24/7 and can also be reached via live chat on thehotline.org or by texting "START" to 88788 or "LOVEIS" to 22522.