Metro donated $63M in food to fight insecurity in 2023

Metro donated $63 million to its food partners Feed Ontario, Food Banks of Quebec and New Brunswick’s Food Depot Alimentaire in 2023.

A statement reads that it equates to roughly four million kilos of food or eight million meals. Moreover, the grocery chain donated another $7.4 million to several organizations last year.

“The money and goods donated to the organizations, which play a key role in helping the most vulnerable, enable concrete assistance such as the distribution of food baskets, meals and snacks,” said Marie-Claude Bacon, vice president of public affairs and communications at Metro. “We know that times are tough for many in our communities, which is why we have increased our community investments by 35 per cent over last year. Knowing that every dollar received by a food bank can provide up to three meals, we know that our support makes a real difference.”

Metro’s program in combating food waste, the One More Bite initiative, leads their efforts. Since its inception in 2016, this program, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2023, has been vital in recovering and redistributing over 27 million kilos of food, translating to more than 53 million meals. The initiative involves collecting quality unsold food from nearly 500 stores under Metro’s various banners, including Metro, Super C, Food Basics, and Adonis, and donating it to local food banks.

Metro is also running the second edition of its Healthy Together campaign, an annual fundraising event that works with the One More Bite program. Held in November and December 2023 across various Metro-affiliated stores and pharmacies — including Jean Coutu and Brunet — the campaign encouraged customers to donate at the checkout.

The response led to a donation of more than $3.2 million to combat food insecurity. Furthermore, Metro boosted this campaign by doubling its corporate contribution, resulting in a total donation of $1,050,000 to its three food bank partners.

In 2023, 370 colleagues dedicated nearly 1,400 hours to volunteering for half a day in organizations across Quebec and Ontario. The commitment significantly benefited 15 charities, a statement reads. And to cap the year off, Metro received Imagine Canada’s Caring Company certification in 2023. It is awarded to companies demonstrating leadership in social impact and community engagement by using at least one per cent of their pre-tax profits to support their communities.