Truth Magazine Issue 3

‘‘FoodRescue.ca makes it easy
for food businesses to improve
their environmental footprint by
donating surplus food to local
social service organizations that
provide immediate hunger relief.”
Food Rescue
The Truth About Our Food
Canadians throw away 40% (15 billion pounds) of food
each year, most of which is perfectly edible. The value of
this discarded food equates to $31 billion being tossed into
landfills, resulting in a tremendous amount of greenhouse gases
entering the atmosphere which is not a sustainable situation for
our environment.
At the same time, there are single parents struggling to pay
bills and feed their kids; seniors living on shrinking incomes,
and youth unable to make ends meet. Every day we interact
with these people – neighbours, co-workers, students, or
retirees – who are experiencing hunger right in our own
communities.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE LOCALLY
A great way to help stop food wastage in your community is
to volunteer with a local charity or non-profit organization.
These groups can take advantage of FoodRescue.ca to access
fresh, nutritious food and you can be a volunteer rescuer!
Offering 30 minutes a week to pickup a donation from a local
business and drop it off at a shelter or school, can make all
the difference to those in need.
FoodRescue.ca is a free, online tool that gives food
businesses with any amount of surplus a simple way
to donate food to any type of local charity at any time.
Grocery stores, retail outlets, restaurants, cafés, bakeries,
butchers, caterers, hotels, producers, and growers can
register to become food donors. Foods like perishable
dairy, protein, prepared foods, and produce, as well as, any
fresh, frozen, or shelf-stable items can be picked up by
‘rescuers’ to ensure this good food gets to those who need
it most.
HOW YOU CAN HELP AT HOME
Reducing the amount of good food that is thrown away is
everyone’s responsibility. We can all pay more attention to
what we buy, consume, and put in the bin on garbage day.
Try planning meals and shopping just for those needs, so that
there is less spontaneous purchasing and the items bought
are more likely to be used. Gather any older, limp produce
items and store them in the freezer for making your own
soup stock. When you are not sure what to make with excess
food, search online for new recipes that incorporate those
ingredients. In this way, we will all do our part to better our
communities!
Visit www.foodrescue.ca for more.
Truthmagazine | 19