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BԪַGame-changingBԪַ program to combat food waste to expand across B.C.

Three-month pilot project in Chilliwack saw food waste redirected to make an estimated 250,000 meals
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A Chilliwack Food Bank worker unpacks a box of fresh strawberries that was among the six pallets of boxed produce, dairy, baked goods and more that had just arrived from Save-On-Foods. (Jennifer Feinberg/The Progress)

The idea is to curb food waste down to nothing BԪַ and itBԪַs working.

In the past four months, Chilliwack has been the pilot site for a food-waste diversion project thatBԪַs being called a BԪַgame-changer.BԪַ

Save-On-Foods joined forces with Food Banks BC, FoodMesh, Loop Resource, and charities like Chilliwack Salvation Army to reach the goal of BԪַzero surplus and potentially wasted foodBԪַ ending up in the waste stream.

A lot has been accomplished.

BԪַEvery item they canBԪַt use, we are getting it,BԪַ said Don Armstrong, coordinator of the Chilliwack Salvation Army Food Bank, picking up some fresh asparagus and packages of sushi received from Save-On.

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Black Press Media stopped by the food bank last week to see how the pilot project was working, as Sally Ann volunteers and staff combed through six pallets of boxed produce, dairy, and baked goods from Save-On-Foods.

Out of a weekBԪַs worth of food, they maybe had one garbage bag full they couldnBԪַt put to use.

BԪַThe program works fantastic,BԪַ said Armstrong, adding they can use about 90 per cent of what they have been getting, and farmers will come by every day to pick up whatBԪַs left to feed their livestock.

BԪַPeople are coming in and theyBԪַre loving the stuff that we are able to give them,BԪַ said Armstrong. BԪַWeBԪַre giving them apples, weBԪַre giving them oranges, bananas, sandwiches, deli meats, roasts, and turkeys.BԪַ

The food-waste diversion is now operational in more than half of the 170 Save-On-Foods stores across the province, including all three in Chilliwack, where the pilot has been redirecting food in a consistent, safe, and measurable way.

The grocery chain spent the past year trying to surpass its company-wide goal to reduce food waste by 50 per cent by 2025.

BԪַWe have been composting perishable waste where possible for a number of years, but we knew we could do better,BԪַ said Darrell Jones, president of Save-On-Foods, in a release.

The idea is to eventually see the initiative rolled out in all Save-On stores across Western Canada.

BԪַWith close to 1.5 million metric tonnes valued at close to $6.4 billion dollars of surplus edible food wasted each year in B.C. and close to 100,000 individuals struggling to put food on the table, perishable food recovery with our partner, Save-On-Foods, has been a true game-changer,BԪַ said Laura Lansink, executive director of Food Banks BC.

So where is it all heading?

BԪַWhat weBԪַre hoping is that other grocery stores will see what Save-On-Foods is doing, and get on board, so we can get all this food out of the landfills,BԪַ Armstrong said.



jfeinberg@theprogress.com

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Jennifer Feinberg

About the Author: Jennifer Feinberg

I have been a Chilliwack Progress reporter for 20+ years, covering city hall, Indigenous, business, and climate change stories.
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