Food loss and waste has become a global problem. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, wasted food costs the global economy around $2.6 trillion US each year. Nearly 60% of food produced in Canada is lost or wasted annually producing approximately 56.6 million tons of carbon dioxide. Food that ends up in landfills creates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that is 25 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide.
In addition to environmental concerns, estimates are that 1.4 million Canadian kids don’t have access to healthy food. By taking a few simple steps to prevent food loss from the production to procurement to storage and consumption it’s estimated that 32% of food waste could be rescued and 4 million Canadians could have access to healthy food in addition to the 1.4 million Canadian kids. In addition to steps we can all take at home to prevent overbuying, improper storage and waste approximately 127,177 businesses are potential donors of surplus edible food within Canada’s food industry.

Join us this week as we welcome Andrew Williams, Newfoundland & Labrador Food Rescue Operations Program Director, Second Harvest, to learn more about this new initiative in the province that makes it easy for businesses to donate food surpluses to community organizations, ensuring that food isn’t wasted and that nutritious food makes its way to people who want it.

Also joining us is Jaime White, Loop Resources, Co-founder and Project Director who will tell us about how they help close the loop on organics waste disposal in the food supply industry, by diverting unsaleable food from the landfill back to the beginning as feed and compost at local farms.