Countdown to Christmas with the 24 Good Deeds advent calendar, available in Canada for this first time this holiday season!
Second Harvest is proud to have been chosen as one of the Canadian organizations included in this year’s 24 Good Deeds calendar, where counting down to Christmas also means giving back! Behind each advent door you’ll learn about a new organization and the work they do to make the world a better place. It’s the perfect way to countdown for friends, family and co-workers alike!
Visit www.24gooddeeds.ca starting October 1 to place your 24 Good Deeds calendar ($24) order.
I’d like to have my calendar before the holidays, what is the order time frame?
It is suggested that you allow 10 days for delivery for all 24 Good Deeds calendar orders.
How are the 24 Good Deeds calendars shipped and what is the shipping cost?
All calendars are shipped via Canada Post. Shipping and handling fees are calculated based on quantity and distance.
Are 24 Good Deeds calendars a good gift for my employees?
Yes! 24 Good Deeds calendars make a great staff Christmas gift. For all Corporate orders there is a minimum order of 15 calendars. Companies then have the option of having a hanger with their personal message printed on it.
Can our company logo be included on the 24 Good Deeds calendars?
Yes! Logo printing is done through a third party printing company and will be invoiced from the company directly at $3.00 per 24 Good Deeds calendar hanger with double sided printing.
“We know our kids are hungrier than what the [school] funding can provide,” Kelly Dyment, a teacher and librarian at Blake Street Junior Public School in Toronto told our team. “Rescuing food allows us to offer more food in schools than we are able to on the budget we have.”
When Kelly heard about Second Harvest’s Food Rescue platform, she jumped at the opportunity to bring good food in her school—and with a greater variety of dishes—than what her school’s meal programs could provide.
“The kids get very excited about the food,” Kelly said. “Over the past few years, they’ve been used to getting a pretty simple menu. But, when they get a fruit or vegetable that they haven’t seen before—because it’s not something that we can normally afford to buy—they are very willing to try new things.”
Not only can Kelly feed more students, but she also recovers good, excess food from neighbourhood businesses that would otherwise go to waste. Local business owners feel good about donating to their neighbourhood school’s meal programs and kids have more brain food to learn.
Bringing good food in schools: Meet the food rescue volunteers
While teachers often lead school initiatives such as fresh food recovery, the school community can be a source of enthusiastic food rescue volunteers, as Kelly discovered. “We put out an email to parents and, even in our small school of over 300 students, we have more than a dozen parents and grandparents who are willing to pick up food donations.”
Blake Street Public School also sends flyers out to parents asking them to promote food rescue to local businesses they use, like restaurants and grocery stores. The flyers have information about the environmental impact of keeping good food out of landfills, as well as the impact of food donations on schools and kids in the community.
Local business owners feel good about giving back to the community
When neighbourhood businesses learn that the unsold food that they typically throw out can be put to such good use by a school, many of them offer even more food donations.
“So many of the businesses donating food have been excited to see us and happy to hear that their excess food is going to a school to feed children,” Kelly explained. “If you know you’ve got good food that is going to go to the landfill, why not put it in the bellies of people that are hungry in our communities?”
She noticed how many more food businesses are using FoodRescue.ca over the past year. This, of course, is great news, not only for reducing food waste and helping our environment but also for Blake Street Junior Public School’s thriving school food program.
Delivering rescued food to after-school programs such as ArtCity
Looking beyond Blake Street Junior Public School’s success story, Second Harvest also delivers quality, rescued food to children and youth in many after-school programs. Namely, Believe To Achieve, Impact ‘n Communities in Scarborough, several Kiwanis Boys & Girls Clubs in Toronto and ArtCity.
Second Harvest is the sole food source for ArtCity in St. James Town, Canada’s most densely populated community in the heart of Toronto. ArtCity provides children aged 6 to 13 with a positive, respectful space to build skillsets focused on creativity and communication.
They offer three after-school programs at no-cost each week that foster self-esteem, awareness of the community and a sense of belonging, not to mention, wonderful art. Rescued food has a powerful impact on what ArtCity can offer with its programs, according to Mekayla Dionne, ArtCity’s Director and Arts Educator.
“It frees up a lot of our budget to not have to be purchasing snacks throughout the year,” Mekayla told us. “Receiving Second Harvest rescued food allows us to use that money for other things, like art supplies, paying staff and doing things like field trips. As well, we receive a really nice variety of fruits, vegetables, juice and drinks, as well as some packaged snacks, so the kids are not receiving the same foods each time.”
The importance of good food in schools on children’s ability to learn
Mekayla sees first-hand how important good food in schools is to the children’s ability to learn. “The kids are coming straight from school to our programs and we don’t know what sort of lunches they’ve had,” she said. “It’s good that we are able to give them a snack so that they’re energized and ready to learn and they’re not distracted by feeling hungry.”
“Sometimes when we get an abundance of items from Second Harvest that we might not be able to go through fast enough in the program alone, we’ll offer whatever is extra to the parents,” she explained. “They’re always happy to take the extras home with them and they are definitely thankful.”
“Without rescued food from Second Harvest, we would have fewer programs, art supplies and field trips. Donated food definitely helps us to provide more to the kids!”
Updated September 2020 Originally appeared: August 27, 2019
Every year, more than $7 billion worth of food is wasted at hotels, restaurants and institutions such as school cafeterias. That’s about 13% of all food loss and waste in Canada.
One of the biggest out-of-home food waste culprits? Plate waste—both in restaurants and at schools. Here’s what that means (for you and the planet) and five helpful tips to reduce your food waste footprint.
Plate waste in the restaurant industry
Plate waste is quite literally food left on your plate in a restaurant. It’s not leftovers that you took home. It’s that last bite left behind or the untouched side salad or basket of bread or handful of fries. For obvious food safety and health reasons, any leftover food on your plate has to be thrown out.
Eyes bigger than our stomachs at all-you-can-eat buffets
Plate waste is particularly an issue at buffets. Oftentimes, kitchen staff over prepare food to give the impression of variety and abundance. Diners who can be overwhelmed with so many options, then fill their plates with more than they can eat to get more “value” for their money (even if it’s free).
5 Tips for diners: How to stop plate waste (and save the planet)
The next time that you’re in a restaurant ordering food or filling up your plate at a buffet, stop for a moment to consider a few things.
How hungry are you? If you’re not too hungry, try modifying your order. For example, order a side salad instead of the main salad or a cup of soup instead of a bowl. Split appetizers and mains if you’re dining with others.
Aren’t going to eat something that the meal comes with? If you already know that you never eat your fries (or salad, who are we kidding), then tell your waiter to hold the fries—or replace it with something that you plan to eat.
Consider the portion sizes. If you know that you can’t eat three slices of bread along with your breakfast order, then say so when you order. Ask about portion sizes beforehand.
Take leftovers home—and eat them, don’t let them go to waste later.
Eat-what-you-can buffet. Rather than thinking of buffets as an all-you-can-eat restaurant, try a very small portion of what looks good to you. Then, if you’re still hungry and your plate is empty, go back and eat what you liked the best.
Plate waste at school: Buffet lunches and meal programs
Food waste is a problem at institutions such as colleges and universities, too. This is because many of them have buffet lunch programs—and deal with fluctuating numbers of students at any given meal. While some campuses are looking at composting programs as a way of managing organic waste in the dining hall, reducing food waste at its source can be a better choice.
Here’s how some campuses have minimized food waste:
Loyola University Chicago found that a combination of getting rid of trays and reducing plate sizes makes about a 25% reduction in food waste. Having fewer options in the buffet can also reduce waste in and out of the kitchen.
Roger Williams University trains kitchen staff to use and re-purpose as much of the meals’ ingredients as possible as well as properly cooling and storing food so it can be re-used.
Take a stand against food waste in restaurants and institutions
Spread the word about Second Harvest’s Food Rescue App: this this free web and mobile app enables food businesses of any type to donate uneaten food directly to local nonprofits.
Back it up with facts: download Second Harvest’s groundbreaking research, The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste. There are more than 100 strategies for food waste reduction and mind-blowing stats.
Share it on social: Instagramming your avocado toast is such a cliché—why not start a food rescue revolution instead? Show how much you loved your leftovers and tag the restaurant.
Updated July 2021 Originally appeared: February 19, 2020
Burnbrae Farms has generously delivered 16,000 eggs to Second Harvest—that’s a lot of omelettes and scrambled egg dishes for communities in need. But what’s more, is how much nutrients are packed into every egg: 13 essential vitamins and minerals and 6 grams of protein. Eggs are one of nature’s wonder foods.
Founded in 1891, Burnbrae Farms is a fifth-generation Canadian-family-owned and operated company. It has been producing eggs and egg products for over 70 years and has become Canada’s leading egg producer with locations across the country.
The company has won 13 Grand Prix awards and 18 production nominations, which put the company in an elite class of Canadian food companies. Some of their product innovations include Naturegg Omega 3 eggs, EGGS2go and Omega 3 Hard Boiled Snack Packs.
We connected with Gemma Bélanger, Corporate Communications & Digital Marketing, to talk about Burnbrae Farms’ rich history and the importance of nutrition and learning. Here’s what she said.
The importance of a healthy breakfast on a child’s ability to learn
Q: Second Harvest provides food to 373 social service organizations across Ontario, including 157 after-school and summer programs. How are eggs beneficial for a healthy diet for children and adults?
A: It’s a well-established fact that eating a healthy breakfast can increase children’s attention span and learning ability. Research clearly shows that breakfast can help improve children’s memory, problem-solving skills and test scores.
Eggs are one of nature’s most nutritious foods; one large egg contains 13 essential vitamins and minerals, 6 grams of protein and only 70 calories. Eggs are a great choice for fueling children’s growing bodies and minds. They are one of the few foods considered to be a complete protein because they contain all 9 essential amino acids. That’s an incredible amount of nutrition.
Q: Burnbrae Farms describes itself as a “fifth-generation Canadian family business with a social conscience.” Can you expand on this for us?
A: At Burnbrae Farms, we recognize the importance of social responsibility and sustainable development. We are a company founded on family values with a long history of community participation.
The Hudson family came to Canada in 1874 and settled at the farm in Lyn in 1891, milking a herd of Ayrshire cattle for many years before entering the poultry business when their grandson, Joe Hudson, was a young high school student.
Burnbrae Farms contributes to the economic viability of the local communities in which we do business. We have embedded family values, including social responsibility, into company values to address key issues such as sustainability, environmental impact, animal welfare, food safety and worker health and wellness.
Q: Why do you think it’s important for Burnbrae Farms to support Second Harvest?
A: Everyone at Burnbrae is passionate about their commitment and involvement in their local communities. The Hudson family and the employees of Burnbrae Farms are proud to take an active role and contribute to the communities in which it operates.
Thank you Burnbrae Farms for supporting Second Harvest and providing nutritious eggs and egg products to our communities!
Updated September 2020 Originally appeared: February 22, 2019
After a decade of rescuing delicious unsold food from Toronto’s infamous St. Lawrence Market and delivering it to local shelters, Second Harvest volunteers Una Tsang and Tracy Tse are hanging up their aprons.
Tracy and Una were part of the St. Lawrence Market Food Rescue team. This group of volunteers visit St. Lawrence Market every Saturday to rescue excess food from a dozen vendors before the market closes for three days. They recover mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, but also cheese, fresh bread, fish, bones for soup and prepared foods like pizza and pasta—all to be delivered to social service organizations in the downtown Toronto core.
We connected with Tracy and Una to talk about what drew them to volunteer with Second Harvest through the St. Lawrence Market Food Rescue team and continue their dedicated support for a decade. Here’s what they said.
St. Lawrence Market Food Rescue: Making a life by what we give
What impact has volunteering had on your life?
“It is my pleasure to have the time, energy and a car to contribute a few hours for this meaningful work. In fact, thank you to Second Harvest for allowing us to do so. The best reply is to quote Winston Churchill: ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’” –Tracy
“It’s given me a different perspective on food and a constant reminder that we all have to work as a team to move forward.” – Una
Why did you choose to volunteer with Second Harvest and the St Lawrence Market Food Rescue team?
“I chose Second Harvest because it is one of the best ways to rescue quality, excess food and when we re-distribute all the goodies to families in need, it builds up our community fabric.” – Tracy
“Volunteers like me are rewarded by meeting grateful ‘customers’: the person who donates is happy that food in which they have placed so much care is not going to waste and the receivers are grateful that they can have the food they might otherwise need to buy.” – Una
What will you remember most about your days volunteering with the St Lawrence Market Food Rescue team?
“Appreciation for the food warms our hearts beyond words.” – Tracy
“The best day for me is to see pounds and pounds of bread that the baker doesn’t want being received by the women’s shelter that has just run out of bread. Or, on a deep winter snowy day when the shelter meets you with a big smile that melts your heart.” – Una
What advice do you have for Second Harvest volunteers to come?
“Your efforts are never wasted. It’s good for your soul and good for your community.” –Tracy
A huge thank you to Tracy and Una for generously putting so much time and energy toward making sure that good food stays on plates—and out of landfills.
Updated September 2020 Originally appeared: December 3, 2019
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