UPDATEDx2: Tomato Battle in Dallas was a bit of a scam

OEsophagus, anonymous:

Absolutely stupid to waste this massive amount of food. Who looks into fraud, the Atty. General?

Kirby, anonymous:

Keeping my fingers crossed for next year's cantaloupe battle, in which this year's "sponsors" will be the targets.

velaaustin, anonymous:

Good investigation.

However, in your cost estimates, any idea what the cost is for the insurance policy, police and EMS staff?

lakewoodhobo, anonymous:

Thanks for following up on this.

msbq0414, anonymous:

I thought there were only around 300 attendees for Tomato Battle according to Alexandra? I checked the mud fight they had the next day, it didn't seem like there were as much. What do you think? How did it balloon to 1500?

No offense. As interesting this news is, but its best that you and writers here at Pegasus give the same figures.

Thanks for this too.

15kman8998, anonymous:

What a farce!! These guys deserve a beheading....

max7183, anonymous:

Tomato Battle had been in contact with the North Texas Food Bank weeks prior to the event. They were grateful for our donation, it is unfortunate that they are saying these things due to miscommunication within their organization. Every food band that we have partnered with has been paid. Tomato Battle is not a waste of food at all. These tomatoes are past ripe, rotten, and rejects. The tomato waste is also composted in some cases. We have donated $4,100 to charity this year to various food banks from Tomato Battle. We are taking food that is not edible and making donations to fight hunger. It's very disappointing for people to lie and say we are a scam or wasting food. Teresa’s emails and phone calls were all answered within 48 hours. Teresa's numbers for our costs are way off. We are still fighting to break even as we are a start-up. We did not net $40,000. So many more costs are associated with organizing an event. But it is still important to us to give back to the community. As for the last comment, of all the bad things in this world, we deserve a beheading? Because we organize events that are fun and we donate to charity? That makes no sense at all. Please get your facts correct and do some research before spreading lies and rumors.

Scott, anonymous:

So, Max, how much did you give to the North Texas Food Bank and on what date did you give it? What's the name and position of the person with the North Texas Food Bank who you believe consented to "partner" with you on this event? What was the other charity your organization was going to give to, how much was given to them, and on what date? Where exactly did you "compost" a semi-truckload of tomatoes after the Dallas event? On what date was the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank paid?

twinwillow, anonymous:

Methinks, Max is a scamming liar who is also, to use his own words, over ripe, rotten and a society reject!

dangarxv, anonymous:

In trying to piece together Teresa Gubbins' diligent chase of the facts of the story with the online details available from the Tomato Battle operation itself, I can assume a general timeline of events, which would balance both accounts. Initially, the Tomato Battle decides to add philanthropy to its intended goal of making a profit (which is generally a good business practice) but overextends itself on its initial event. In future events, the overreaching exuberance is tempered, so media is not given quotes that $4K-$5K would be used to benefit local food banks, but instead, a general announcement is made that some local food bank would receive a benefit. No partnership is created, but instead a local beneficiary is selected at random. The initial event's promises of a large donation then haunt the operation when this quote is found later as they continue to host events. Procurement of produce does not seem to be a strong point for two individuals with a background in investment/technology start-ups, so I assume the truckloads of tomatoes were arranged ad hoc at each site by a local contact. Bands, booze, facilities, and a general atmosphere of fun were provided, which appears to be all that the Tomato Battle was advertising. I looked through the website for the operation, and the Facebook posts, and in the Pegasus News report, but did not see a link to any promotion that used charity or food banks as a selling point for the event. If I overlooked something, please link to it for my edification. While I appreciate Ms. Gubbins efforts to "out" a scam, I believe the issue may merely be that an overzealous operation wanted to do some good, but did not have the infrastructure or acumen to accomplish this, as opposed to the idea that a group of grifters rolled though Dallas and had saps create the Emperor's new clothes in tomato paste. Of course, that's just my opinion, so I may be overlooking something, and this does not justify the lack of communication the Tomato folks had with their supposed beneficiaries. Or with Ms. Gubbins. Just more food for thought, I guess

Clay213, anonymous:

Sniping at public figures? I don't think that language is allowed post Giffords.

liejian, anonymous:

I dont know much about the situation but neither does anyone else. I think that a lot of the comments aimed at the founders of tomatoe fight are from ppl who just want to throw their blind 2 cents in. Owning a few companies myself, I can say that expenses usually balloon higher than what most outsiders think so to assume 40k profit is a big ignorant. Manpower, incidentals, cleanup, all these things have to be accounted for. For every 10 costs you think of, there are a handful you forgot.