At a time when many Canadians go without having enough to eat, a recent report indicating over 50 per cent of the food produced in our country gets wasted is especially concerning.
But beyond the gloomy details lie the efforts of many who are fighting to redirect the amount of food heading for the bin to the dinner table.
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Feed Nova Scotia has been operating for 30 years, taking in donations from producers, processors, retailers and consumers that would otherwise go to waste, and providing them to food banks across the province.
It’s a service the not-for-profit organization, unfortunately, calls very necessary.
“Feed Nova Scotia is working with our partner organizations across the province, 145 food banks, shelters, drop-in centres and other meal programs who are helping to alleviate the pressures of food insecurity of hunger and poverty in their communities,” said director of development and communications Karen Theriault.
“To be able to provide food to people when it is immediately needed is so critical,” she said.
This week, eight major Canadian companies made a formal commitment to take measurable action against food waste.
Kraft Heinz Canada, Loblaws, Maple Leaf Foods, Metro Inc, Save-On-Foods, Sobeys, Unilever and Walmart Canada all committed to decreasing food waste by 50 per cent by 2025.
“Yesterday’s exciting commitment provides a focused approach for Sobeys,” external communications director for Sobeys Inc., Jacquelin Corrado-Weatherbee, said in a statement.
“We have already implemented a number of significant actions across our business to reduce food waste in our operations. We have adopted Food Banks Canada’s progressive food donation policy to ensure as much food as possible is being redirected to food banks and meal programs.”
Feed Nova Scotia depends on major corporations to provide the service that they do but is quick to point out their donors come in all sizes.
They encourage anyone who wants to make an effort to keep their food from going to waste, to get in touch.
“If you know that you have surplus food, please reach out to Feed Nova Scotia,” Theriault said. “We have the cold chain logistics, we have the facilities here, the volunteers, the resources to get that food out to people who need it.”