Food Waste Reduction Program Teams with Red Deer, Canada to Help Those in Need

A new group with a focus on saving food waste from entering landfills has launched a new program in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.

The Leftovers Foundation, which was founded back in 2012 by a Calgary-based entrepreneur and philanthropist, organizes volunteers, donors, and service agencies to rescue and divert food. The foundation just launched its program in Red Deer earlier this month after working with other local agencies.

The program uses an app to coordinate picking up food donations and delivering them using the help of volunteers. Red Deer coordinator Kaity Engel says that a lot of food may already be donated to the Red Deer Food Bank and other agencies but notes that more can be done to help those in need.

“I think that a lot of people are forgetting that the food that they can’t sell, and often ends up in the landfill, is food that people can use and need in the community,” Engel said.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Leftovers Foundation has redirected more than 900,000 kilograms of food from landfills. The foundation notes that it is committed to reducing food waste, increasing access, and developing programs that help change the way people think about sustainability.

Read the full article here.