Food Stash drivers rescue 100,000 lb of food per month!
Seven days a week, our Food Recovery Drivers are on the road picking up surplus food from Food Donors. Rescued food is considered surplus that was not sold due to over-stocking, cancelled orders, lack of storage or not fulfilling consumer standards in terms of size or appearance. When our Drivers pick up the food, they record the type and weight of food they rescue, making that information available to Food Donors.
Where does the food go?
Around 80% of the food we rescue is taken immediately to our Community Partners. Our Community Partners are composed of 30+ nonprofits that have their own hot meal, market and food hamper programs. By distributing rescued food through a variety of nonprofits, Food Stash is able to serve a broad diversity of communities.
The remaining 20% is brought back to our headquarters for our in-house programming:
What happens to the food that’s no longer good?
Sometimes the food we rescue is no longer good enough for our programs. Thanks to Metro Vancouver’s organics ban, no organic waste may be put in the garbage; it must be composted. We get creative to use as much of the rescued food as we can, but when necessary, we properly sort our waste streams into organics and recycling and aim to produce as little trash as possible.
If Canada upholds its 2030 goal to cut food loss and waste in half, and if we ensure all food packaging is properly composted or recycled, we could see a 48% reduction in the 56.5 million metric tonnes of CO2e produced annually by Canada's food loss and waste (National Zero Waste Council, 2020).
Are you a food retailer, wholesaler or farmer who’d like to donate surplus food.
Do you work at a nonprofit that would like to receive rescued food donations?