Because Canadians can do better than $31 billion in food waste per year
Just like other unsustainable behaviour, addressing your individual food waste doesn’t have to be daunting. There are many tips, tricks, and community groups in Guelph to help you along the way. Food sharing is something that needs to become the new normal. In Canada each year, $31 billion worth of food is wasted. That is equivalent to 40 per cent of the total value of food that Canada produces. And that number is the most conservative measure of the value of Canadian food waste — it doesn’t even include the added waste of energy, resources, and labour that goes into producing food waste.
Whether you’re having trouble making ends meet, or consider yourself well-off, limiting food waste is something you can work towards by engaging with local food sharing organizations and groups. Food sharing is an integral part of limiting food waste created by businesses and individuals.
Food sharing groups on Facebook, and apps such as OLIO, are ways that individuals can get involved by reducing food waste in untraditional ways.
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For example, the Facebook group “BUNZ” started as a place to trade unwanted food, but has evolved into a place to exchange a wide variety of items.
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Similarly, OLIO is a phone app for local food sharing where community members and businesses post extra food that they have on hand and arrange for pickup from a recipient in need. Since its launch in 2015, the number of food items that have been shared through the app has been notable; at least 401,208!
If food sharing groups and apps aren’t for you, but you’re still interested in getting involved, there are a number of things that you can do both on and off campus.
At home, focusing on changing personal habits is a great way to reduce your own personal food waste. In Canada, 47 per cent of food wasting occurs at the consumer level, which means that we’ve got a lot that we can do right here on the ground.
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Some fantastic ways to cut back on food waste are:
Making a list before you shop
Having meals in mind while shopping
Learning how to repurpose leftovers
Donating unwanted food items on a regular basis
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There are also great resources on campus that can help you get started on your journey towards reducing food waste.
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The Guelph Student FoodBank is a CSA service that brings food security referrals, financial support, and a breakfast program (among other things) to students and the greater Guelph community.
Meal Exchange is a national student-run charity that uses student-driven solutions to solve food distribution issues in local communities.
Transition Guelph is a local group that focuses on community-based agricultural practices like community land sharing and community gardens.
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If you’re having trouble limiting your personal food waste on your own, any one of these organizations is a great way to get assistance so that you can learn how to conserve food for your community.
Image by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion