Introducing Canada’s first-ever Upcycled Food Fest

Bringing together an unprecedented group of chefs, restaurants, food and beverage companies, nutritionists and grocery retailers, the first-ever Upcycled Food Festival is the new frontier in the battle against food waste in Canada. Running through November, the festival is publicly showcasing just how healthy, fully sustainable and delicious meals can be when upcycled from wasted food. The Upcycled Food Fest is supported by investment from the Grain Farmers of Ontario and the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

Powered by Provision Coalition, the festival offers both consumers and companies/organizations around the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario the chance to use and try upcycled foods to create a positive environmental and social impact. Leveraging unavoidable by-products from food and beverage companies, the festival has worked with nutrition experts and chefs to create new and inventive meals with unavoidable by-products and ingredients currently going to waste.

“We couldn’t be more excited to launch Canada’s first-ever Upcycled Food Festival to help change the way people think about food waste,” says Cher Mereweather, president & CEO of Provision Coalition. “The amount of food wasted each year is staggering, and the environmental and social impact of it is really unthinkable—especially when over four million Canadians are food insecure. We want to engage both food and beverage companies and the public to show that new, nutritious and delicious meals and ingredients can be made from upcycled ingredients.”

Shining a light on the new, local, circular (and delicious!) food movement, the Upcycled Food Festival aims to inspire Canadians to consider the issue of food waste and insecurity while supporting local through upcycled food and beverage products.

“Grain Farmers of Ontario values sustainability and is proud to have supported this initiative,” says Paul Hoekstra, VP of strategic development at Grain Farmers of Ontario. “We’re excited for the opportunity for more Canadians to enjoy local, Ontario-grown soybean products in a new way that reduces unnecessary waste.”