Unfortunately when Island Harvest Advisory Board member Loretta Sehlmeyer wrote a letter to the editor that was published in the Newsday September 22 edition, the newspaper used a photograph of the Oyster Festival oyster eating contest with the Explore LI cover story about competitive eating as an example of their headline, “Gluttony in bad taste.”
Ms. Sehlmeyer wrote in her letter to the editor, “As soon as I saw the Explore LI cover story “Fast Food. The voracious world of competitive eating [Sept. 13), I knew I’d be writing this letter. I am repeatedly disgusted when I see stories on this most repulsive ‘sport’.”
It was an unfortunate choice of photograph since the Frank M. Flower company that provides all the oysters for the Oyster Festival is the company that founded the Celia Flower Food Pantry in Oyster Bay. The pantry is named for Butler Flower’s wife and was founded so that no one in Oyster Bay should every go to bed hungry.
The Frank M. Flower booth sells T-shirts, and hats at the festival and all those profits go to the Celia Flower Pantry.
The Oyster Festival has a mission – to support all the not-for-profits in Oyster Bay. It provides the platform and through the efforts of the Rotary Club of Oyster Bay and local volunteers from the clubs – those charities make the lives of many people better.
The Oyster Bay Charitable Fund gives away profits from the festival.
If there was ever a poor choice in highlighting an issue, the Oyster Festival eating contest should not have been used.
Charitably speaking – we all do make mistakes but we hope Newsday and Ms. Sehlmayer and Island Harvest who used the photo and editorial to reach people via e-mail will all take a moment to apologize to the Oyster Festival organizers for using the photo and the contest as a “bad” example.
Just as an aside about the contest. If you come to see the contestants eating, not all of them are out to break the record. Many are there to enjoy the fun and the great taste of the free oysters for the competitors. You can see both by the small number of oysters they consume in the four minutes allowed and by the plastic containers some of the bring with them to take home the rest of their oysters to enjoy.
There are several people who truly compete for the title of having eaten the most oysters each year, but it is done in good fun; is a contest run worldwide at oyster festivals; and promotes eating the delicious mollusks. Having once participated in the oyster opening contest, and having opened only four. I have often thought of joining the contestants eating – and yes, I would bring along my own plastic container to bring home the remainders. I am an oyster eater! – DFK
