Food rescue organization launches in Lethbridge

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on July 8, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

A tech-enabled food rescue organization launched in Lethbridge on Friday.

The Leftovers Foundation rescues food from grocery stores, hotels and restaurants, directing it to social service agencies through community volunteers, the organization said in a press release Friday afternoon.

“Leftovers is motived to drive the mobilization of the community through the use of our Rescue Food app as well as volunteers and food donors. We are committed to reducing waste by redirecting good food from landfills to our vulnerable community members. This is good for our environment as well as our community,” says the organization.

The foundation wants to engage interested receiving agencies as well as food donors and volunteer drivers in the Lethbridge area. People interested in rescuing or donating rescued food can contact Lethbridge co-ordinator Katarina Meyer at katarina@rescuefood.ca

In the release, Danielle McIntyre of the Interfaith Food Bank Society said “we’re excited about the arrival of The Leftovers Foundation as we’ve seen the success of the program model in other communities. Their ability to support our local food agencies by leveraging volunteers and connections with restaurants and retailers will be a great addition to our local food share systems.”

The program rescues good edible food that otherwise would be sent to the landfill and redirects it to organizations offering food access programs to the city’s most vulnerable populations.

The mission of the foundation is to “reduce food waste and prevent the greenhouse gas emissions caused when good food is left to rot,” says its website.

According to the website, Canada’s food system wastes more than 3.2 million tonnes of edible food each year. Only about 100,000 tonnes or four per cent, is rescued and redirected while some of the remainder is used for animal feed, biofuels or compost. The rest, says the foundation, goes to landfills.

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