Help us ensure healthy, surplus food reaches communities who need it most!
What is the goal of this project?
This project aims to reduce the amount of unnecessary food waste from PEI businesses and provide more good food to not-for-profits to use in their programming and eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from this food going to landfill.
Funded by the Government of Prince Edward Island through the Climate Challenge Fund and in partnership with Farm and Food Care PEI and the City of Charlottetown, Second Harvest will work with food businesses and not-for-profits through their free Second Harvest Food Rescue App. This app allows groups to connect and facilitates efficient food donations. It also provides data to both parties regarding the community and environmental impact of their work together.
Second Harvest Food Rescue AppWhy is this project important?
Nearly 60% of food produced in Canada – amounting to 35.5 million metric tonnes – is lost and wasted annually. Of that, 32% – equaling 11.2 million metric tonnes of lost food – is avoidable and is food that could be redirected to support people in our communities. This avoidable food waste accounts for 22.2 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent every year being released into the atmosphere.
At the same time, there are currently over 61,000 community organizations providing charitable food support roughly 6.7 million Canadians across the country. In 2017-18, 14% of Island households were experiencing food insecurity and 1 in 5 children under 18 lived in these food insecure households. These numbers do not capture the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which has had a major impact on food security across the country and around the world.
Join us in reducing the social and environmental impacts of food waste and provide for those in need in Prince Edward Island!
Get Involved
Food businesses
Upon registering for the Second Harvest Food Rescue App, businesses can post donations when they have food available and it will assist in arranging a not-for-profit to come pick it up. There is no minimum or maximum weight to be posted and no obligation to post with any set frequency.
Check out these helpful resources to learn more about how the app works and how it can benefit your business and your community and fill out our survey to learn more about food waste in the province.
Non-Profit Organizations
When businesses post donations, not-for-profit organizations registered on the app will receive notifications and have the opportunity to claim them. This can be a great way to supplement your existing programming and form new partnership with businesses in your community. Learn more below about how your organization can get involved in the resources below or contact our team.
Teacher or school administrators
Interested in teaching your students about food waste? Check out these great resources and activities!
Members of the community
Learn more about the impacts of food loss and waste by taking an E-Learning Courses or reviewing Second Harvest’s research!
- Take an e-learning course!
- The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste
- The Invisible Food Network
- Attend a Second Harvest Event
Please note: Some of this content is housed by a third-party server to allow us to share it free of charge with all those interested. In order to access these courses and materials, simply create a free account.
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