It’s 2021, and world hunger persists.  

Statistics show the global agricultural industry produces enough food to successfully feed the population of the entire planet. Yet, hundreds of millions of people in both developing and developed nations experience food insecurity and poverty every single day. Food waste represents a massive modern crisis. 

Live Green Toronto, 2018

Food waste, not to be confused with food loss, refers specifically to edible items that are discarded, despite being completely fit for human consumption, following initial production stages such as harvest and transportation.
Between restaurant, retailer and household waste, massive amounts of edible food are wasted every single day, all around the globe. Despite much of this waste being avoidable, the fact remains that thousands of pounds of viable food travel from farms to landfills each year. From both a human interest and environmental perspective, food waste represents a crisis with significant consequences.  

According to a 2018 report on Global Food Waste and its Environmental Impact, “An estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year, one third of all food produced for human consumption.”

A 2019 Technical Report on The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste by Second Harvest highlights that in Canada alone, the annual avoidable food loss and waste totals 11.2 million metric tonnes, reaching a total value of $49.5 billion. According to the report, this amount “equates to 3% of Canada’s 2016 GDP and would feed every person living in Canada for almost 5 months” (6). 

In addition to harming the community, food waste negatively impacts the environment by creating a massive drain on existing resources without reason. “When edible items are discarded, it’s not just food that is wasted. Consider all the resources required to bring food from the farm to your table: water for irrigation, land for planting, fuel for powering harvest and transport vehicles … when restaurant owners fill their rubbish bins with uneaten meals, all those resources are essentially wasted” (1).

Reallocating surplus goods, as opposed to throwing them away, is a critical step in reducing food waste, minimizing the carbon footprint of the agricultural sector, and aiding individuals in gaining access to basic needs. According to Second Harvest, “Four million Canadians have insufficient access to food. Nevertheless, of the avoidable and edible food loss and waste (FLW) that occurs along the value chain, an estimated 86 percent is currently not rescued and redistributed” (6).

In Calgary, a number of citywide and business specific “food rescue” programs are in place with the goal of addressing and reducing those staggering statistics. Organizations such as the Leftovers Foundation reduce food waste by collecting and redirecting leftover products to places in need, such as shelters or charities, as opposed to letting them be thrown away at the end of each day.  

With three locations across Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, the Leftovers Foundation works with local restaurants, bakeries, grocers and distributors to redirect excess edible food where it is needed most. In Calgary, city coordinators work closely with food donors and service agencies to establish weekly and bi-weekly routes for pick up and drop off by volunteers. The Leftovers Foundation fulfills service agency food needs on both a scheduled and as-needed basis. “We are the connection point between people who have good, edible, nutritious food to donate,” says Audra Stevenson, Interim CEO for the Leftovers Foundation, “and those who are unable to put food on their plates.” 

In 2019, the Leftovers Foundation launched their Food Rescue app in partnership with Technovation, to streamline connections between volunteers and food redirection routes. Stevenson describes the app as a “game-changer” for the organization, and as a result, the Leftovers Foundation has been able to standardize and scale their operations much more effectively.

In this line of work, where the ultimate goal is to reduce food waste, food poverty, and the associated environmental impacts, collaboration is key. The Leftovers Foundation works collaboratively with other food rescue services around the city to avoid duplication and ensure all the food that can be saved, gets saved. “We’re supportive of every possible food rescue initiative,” says Stevenson, “It’s about every pound of food that makes it way onto someone’s plate instead of into the landfill.” 

Other food rescue resources: 

Calgary Food Bank Food Rescue and Share Program
https://www.calgaryfoodbank.com/foodmovement/

Kerby Centre Food Rescue
https://www.kerbycentre.com/support-services/foodrescue/

Zero Waste YYC
https://www.facebook.com/yyc.zerowaste/

In the war on food waste, every effort counts. “Food insecurity is becoming a bigger and bigger problem with COVID,” says Stevenson, “It’s not going to just go away. Any way you can get involved with our systems, whether it’s volunteering, donating, just paying attention to gaps in the community – now is the time to get involved and help reduce food waste.” 

For more information on the Leftovers Foundation and how to get involved in Calgary’s efforts to reduce food waste, visit https://rescuefood.ca

For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary.

It’s Monday and this week our Business Spotlight feature is Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria! This Italian inspired pizzeria is located at 5016 51 Avenue. We had the chance to sit down with owner, Ryan Curtis, to learn more about this business!

What is your business? 

 Famoso Pizzaria. 

 When did you open? 

 We opened in July of 2013. 

 What would you say makes your business unique? 

We’re pretty specialized in the type of pizza that we serve, obviously focusing on Neapolitan pizza, thin crust, and importing most of our ingredients from Italy. For example, Double Zero Flour from Naples, Campania tomatoes from the Campania region of Italy, just outside of Naples, which are grown in volcanic ash, fresh Fior di Latte Mozzarella, which is made fresh for us every week, locally of course. It cooks in our Italian Forno at 900 degrees for only about 90 seconds. So really thin-crust, softer style of pizza, rather than the typical North American style pizza. 

What are some products/services that you offer?  

Neapolitan Style Pizza, and we now have a different, thicker crust which is a more New York-Sicilian style pizza. Lots of craft beer, wine, cocktails, appetizers, salads, gelato—quite a few things here! 

Why did you choose Downtown Red Deer as the location for your business? 

We thought it would be a really great fit in the sense that we’re central to everywhere in the city. We’re 10-12 minutes from any given place. The nice part about where we are is, we do have free parking! For any perceived lack of parking, that’s something that unfortunately plagues Downtown, even though it’s not well founded, I think. 

What do you think makes Downtown vibrant? 

In terms of Red Deer, if your talking dining, I think we have the best kind of diverse dining scene. Occams Razor, Tribe, Dose—best coffee in town! —some really neat, unique offerings. I know we’re a franchise but we’re still pretty unique in the city. There’s just a lot of neat shops like Alta, Rob Rae’s, and products and services that you can’t find anywhere else in the city. I think it’s awesome, I mean, look at Downtown right now through the holidays with City Hall all lit up with the lights—it’s just beautiful! I think the sense of community that a lot of the businesses have, or at least I’ve experienced in our time here, it’s been great. It just makes us so unique.  

I love Downtown Red Deer because… of the community spirit down here and the DBA’s help and guidance to tie it all together. If I had to pick just one thing, I would say winter Downtown. City Hall lights, it’s just so nice when you are hanging out down here. Even though Red Deer Light’s the Night was a bit of a sad reminder of how much things have changed, it’s usually one of our busiest nights, the best of Red Deer is still on display and it’s a great way to show off our own area in Red Deer.

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria is open for curbside pick-up and delivery! Check out their website for their menu and their social media for updates on new menu items and specials!

Website: https://famoso.ca/locations/red-deer/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FamosoRedDeer/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/famosoreddeer/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FamosoPizzeria