(Charlene Tebbutt/paNOW)

By rdnewsNOW staff

zero waste

Save-On-Foods expands waste reduction program

Jun 9, 2019 | 8:45 PM

A goal expected to take six years has been met and exceeded in just six months by Save-On-Foods.

The Western Canadian grocery chain chopped its food waste in half over that period, working with BC-based organizations FoodMesh and Loop Resource, and in partnership with Food Banks BC and other charities.

Eighty-six Save-On stores – more than half of its locations – are now diverting 100 per cent of their unsalable perishable food from landfills.

That includes both stores in Red Deer.

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Ernie Cordonier, General Manager at Save-On-Foods in north Red Deer, says the impacts of the program locally have been far-reaching.

“Each day in Red Deer, we have farmers and their families pick up food items that our local food bank is not able to utilize; after feeding people first, animals second and then to the Earth through composting at the farm, we’re completing a cycle of diverting organics out of our landfill,” he says.

“Our local farmers are extremely happy and excited about this program as it enables them to enhance their feed for their animals, while helping to manage their costs and doing the right thing for Mother Earth. One of our local farmers has already increased their goat herd as they can now afford to feed more goats, thus increasing their sustainability as well.”

The company is in the process of scaling its 100 per cent food waste diversion process to another 35 stores, which will be food waste-free by the end of the year.

Since reaching the 50 per cent reduction target announced in January, the company revised its goal to become a zero-food waste operation within three years.

“We started the ball rolling on diverting our surplus food from landfills with a single store in February of 2018, and from there, worked on three simultaneous pilot projects in collaboration with Food Mesh, Loop Resources, and members of Food Banks BC to ensure we had a scalable and sustainable solution that allowed us to confidently state our first target,” Darrell Jones, president of Save-On-Foods, said.

“We have created a process that can track and measure surplus food and how it’s put to better and higher uses. This is a great first step in our ultimate goal of being a zero-waste company, and we are able to leverage the insights from the process to help us reduce surplus and potentially wasted food in the first place.”

In BC, close to 1.5 million metric tonnes valued at close to $6.4 billion, has assisted 100,000 individuals struggling to put food on the table, thanks to the program.

Through these partnerships, Save-On-Foods has provided more than 500,000 free meals to families in need across Western Canada since the beginning of the year.

Save-On-Foods is owned by the Jim Pattison Group, the same ownership as rdnewsNOW.

(with files from paNOW and CFJC Today)