Did you know that reducing your food waste can save you money? We toss 2.3 million tonnes of perfectly good food every year, costing Canadian households an average of $1,766 a year.
That’s why we are challenging you this month of August to reduce food waste and food costs and donate the difference back to Second Harvest. Our goal is to raise $25,000 to help provide food for over 50,000 meals for people across Canada!
Throughout the month, we will be sharing a wide variety of tips to cut your food costs down, from leftover hacks, food storing tips, grocery shopping efficiencies, preservation techniques, and even cocktail recipes! These tools will help create savings in your food budget, savings that can help fill kitchens for food insecure families across Canada!
Have you found kitchen hacks that have reduced your food waste and saved you money, like freezing – and eating – your leftovers, turning overripe fruit into gelato, buying only what you need or using smaller storage? Estimate your savings and #DonatetheDifference
Step 3: Show off your progress on social!
Take a photo of your economical and planet-friendly meal or food saving tip and post them with the hashtag #DonatetheDifference and tag @SecondHarvestCA. Take it up a notch and tag three friends to take the challenge with you – and be sure to follow us on social @SecondHarvestCA to see how people like you are doing their part.
Inspired to see how much you can save? We have all the resources and tips to help you get started.
Reducing food loss and waste is serious work that can also be a lot of fun! On July 29, we are launching a Youth Food Waste Prevention Symposium featuring your choice of one of three youth-friendly workshops that will inspire youth, families, and their friends to reduce food waste at home, at school and in their community!
Want to earn the chance to win a food rescue swag bag worth $100? Make this a family or organization event! The more people you bring, the more chances you get to win a prize! Click hereto learn more.
On the day, you’ll choose your food waste adventure by picking one of the following workshops:
Option 1: Urban (and Kitchen!) Agriculture
We will get a virtual tour of an urban farm to see what it takes to grow food, even in small spaces. And you’ll learn how to turn your own kitchen into your own urban farm by re-growing food scraps. With a little love and patience, we can re-grow our food to enjoy a second or third time!
Option 2: Become a Food Explorer
Do you live with a picky eater – adult or kid? This workshop will show you how to rediscover the sensory delight in food while creating meals that are delicious and colorful… not just good for you.
Option 3: Preserving Surplus Food
Preserving surplus fruits and vegetables does not have to be a chore! Come and try our kid-friendly recipes that are not only delicious but use up those leftover ingredients in no time. This workshop also has recipes to keep you cool this summer so check it out!
Pro tip: You will also gain access to our Educator’s Guide to Food Waste Prevention if you attend our event! It’s a perfect companion guide for any educators looking for informative, interactive, out-of-the-box activities to encourage youth to become food rescue heroes!
Youth Food Waste Symposium Thursday July 29, 2021 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM EST
Second Harvest has marked a milestone: our first-ever sea-lift shipment of food donations, bound for Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Arviat, Chesterfield Inlet, Kimmirut, Baker Lake, and Kinngait in Nunavut. As you read this, shipments of healthy shelf-stable food including rice, soup, lentils, chickpeas, pasta and hummus, as well as laundry detergent are entering the Labrador Sea to help stock cupboards in vulnerable communities. Here’s the journey so far.
The complexity of shipping to the North is an exciting new challenge for Second Harvest. We are grateful to our partners Uber Freight, Arctic Co-op, GetPaq, Inari and Global Medic for logistics support, donations of food and personal care supplies.
The sealift is building on Second Harvest’s efforts to reach communities in the North, as we describe in Hearty, Yet Hungry: Northern Food Shipment Arrives in Aklavik which tells the story of how we distributed two planeloads of turkey breasts, chicken drumsticks, fries, canned salmon and eggs to this Northwest Territories hamlet.
Whether it’s with a fleet of trucks or our food rescue tech, Second Harvest’s work of recovering and redistributing healthy surplus food is always on the move.
Last year, Second Harvest rescued and redistributed more than 22 million pounds of food – and there is still more to be done. Our research has shown that there are 11.2 million tonnes of potentially rescuable, edible food sent to landfill every year – that’s enough to feed every Canadian for five months, for free, and that’s not even half of the 35.5 million tonnes of total food loss and waste in this country.
Working to reduce food waste, creating food donation tools and solutions for food businesses and making sure the surplus goes to people, not landfill, relies on the investment and vision of our partners, which is why we are celebrating entering our fifth year of support from the Walmart Foundation.
The support of the Walmart Foundation has enabled Second Harvest to conduct world-first research into food loss and waste, to develop our Food Rescue App, and then to expand the web app across Canada when COVID-19 hit to give non-profits like meal programs, shelters and food banks access to emergency food relief for their communities.
You can learn more about the reasons we’re celebrating in our recent press release – and to get a look at the Walmart Foundation’s partnership in action, click below to watch the impact video.
Our thanks and gratitude to the Walmart Foundation as we start and celebrate our fifth year of an incredible collaboration!
On a warm evening in June, 48 Toronto chefs showcased their immense talents at the 30th anniversary of Toronto Taste. This unique charitable culinary extravaganza was filled with fine food and drink, celebrities and live music.
Most importantly, more than one million dollars – the equivalent of 2,067,467 meals – was raised to support food rescue and to help fight food insecurity in Canada. It was truly a night to remember!
Attendees watched as three chefs competed against each other to create the best tasting and lowest-waste dish in an exciting 30-minute Chefs’ challenge. April Julian, from Netflix’s Is it Cake, wowed the crowd as she displayed her incredible decorating skills and had guests guessing which food item was actually cake. Bob Blumer and Bianca Osbourne then led a live auction for Feed the Need donations which helped raise money for families in need.
For 25 years, The Daniels Corporation has been an essential part of the fight against hunger in the city of Toronto as Presenting Sponsor of Toronto Taste. 2022 was a very special year for Toronto Taste as not only was it the 30th anniversary, but also was the first time the event was being held after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
“The best part of Toronto Taste is knowing the impact of raising funds to help feed families experiencing hunger. The event was also a wonderful opportunity to sample the best that Toronto’s chefs offer and gather with people we haven’t seen in a long time,” explains Don Pugh, Partner at The Daniels Corporation.
Each year at Toronto Taste, restaurants and chefs create signature dishes in the form of small ‘bites’ for attendees. Guests enjoyed dishes such as Saffron Risotto with Bone Marrow, Steamed Kusshi Oysters and Humba Pork Belly Skewers, among many other mouth-watering offerings. And of course a wide selection of beer, wine, cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks from 23 separate beverage purveyors.
“This year we celebrated the 30th anniversary of Toronto Taste, a night made possible as a result of an amazing 25-year partnership with our incredible presenting sponsor The Daniels Corporation,” explains Lori Nikkel, Second Harvest CEO. “We are thrilled by the results. Over one million dollars was raised, enabling us to provide over two million healthy meals for families. I’m humbled by the commitment of the Toronto restaurant community, as well as our amazing sponsors, the 250 volunteers and of course, by our incredible guests who together made this year’s Toronto Taste a magical night we will always remember!”
Toronto Taste exemplifies generosity and community spirit, with chefs, restaurants and beverage purveyors donating their time, talent, staff and food for this event. Considering the difficulties faced by the restaurant industry during the COVD-19 pandemic, this was no small gesture. See the complete list of participating chefs and restaurants.
The 2022 event was held at Evergreen Brick Works, a 19th century industrial space located in a lush valley in central Toronto. Guests mingled with chefs, bid on fine wines and exclusive items in an epic silent auction, entered a raffle to win one of six incredible prizes – including an all-inclusive trip to the O2 Beach Club & Spa in Barbados – and created share-worthy memories with photo backdrops placed throughout the event. In addition, all cash donations made during Toronto Taste were matched by IA Financial, up to $50,000.
Second Harvest is grateful for the continued commitment of our partners to Second Harvest’s mission of tackling food loss and waste and protecting our planet as we innovate and collaborate with our partners to achieve our vision of No Waste, No Hunger.
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