Walmart Foundation gives $510,000 USD grant to Second Harvest to research waste prevention in Canada’s food and beverage industry

TORONTO, May 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization, announced today that the Walmart Foundation has given them a grant of $510,000 USD to fund a research project working with 50 companies in the food processing and manufacturing sector to explore and address the barriers to recovering and redistributing surplus food.

Provision Coalition and Enviro-Stewards are partnering with Second Harvest to measure and track environmental and social impact from this food loss and waste prevention and repurposing project.

At the end of their project participation, companies and their employees will be equipped with the knowledge, tools, and ability to take action to prevent waste and redistribute food for food rescue and community food programs.

This Walmart Foundation has invested $510,000 USD in the research project.

In Canada, nearly 60 per cent of food produced is lost or wasted every year, of which 47 per cent, or 16.77 million metric tonnes, comes from processing and manufacturing. When this food ends up in landfill, it generates 56.5 million metric tonnes of CO₂e emissions every year. While this good, healthy food is lost, 1 in 7 Canadian families struggles to put food on the table – a number exacerbated by COVID-19.

“There is more than enough food produced in Canada and the world that no one ever needs to be hungry,” said Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest. “With our partners at Provision Coalition and Enviro-Stewards, and with the generous support of the Walmart Foundation, we are developing sustainable actions to address food waste that will support best practices, protect the environment and increase access to healthy food for all Canadians.”

About Second Harvest 
Second Harvest is the largest food rescue organization in Canada and a global thought leader in food recovery. Working across the supply chain – from farm to retail – we capture surplus perishable food before it ends up in landfill negatively impacting our environment. The Second Harvest Food Rescue App connects businesses with surplus food to local non-profits, ensuring good food gets to people. With the global pandemic, Second Harvest is leading the Food Rescue Canadian Alliance (FRCA), bringing together government, industry, Indigenous communities and the non-profit sector to ensure food reaches the most vulnerable members of our communities, from coast to coast to coast. Learn more at https://secondharvest.ca/. 

About Provision Coalition
Provision Coalition has a long history in the food and beverage industry, with over a decade of experience supporting food and beverage manufacturers and other key stakeholders with making food sustainably. Provision partners with organizations looking for a truly transformative way to improve all aspects of their business and have worked with hundreds of food and beverage companies across Canada, from small start-ups to large multi-nationals, consistently delivering solid business results along with the framework and support needed to drive lasting change within an organization. www.provisioncoalition.com

About Enviro-Stewards
Enviro-Stewards’ engineers and scientists offer a consultative and analytical approach in order to identify and implement practical and economically feasible solutions to prevent food loss and guide organizations to net zero carbon.  A Certified B Corporation, they are focused on stimulating an increased margin on sales while reducing environmental footprints and improving social conditions (article). Their innovative solutions have retained millions of meals in the food supply and saved clients millions of dollars in operating costs, eliminated thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste, cut back natural gas usage by millions of cubic metres, and reduced millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. https://www.enviro-stewards.com/

For more information or to schedule an interview:
Ashley Herod, Director of Marketing and Communications, Second Harvest
E: ashleyh@secondharvest.ca
M: 416-625-6773