Frequently Asked Questions

How big is the issue of wasted food in Canada really?

A: It’s estimated that up to 58% of food produced for Canadians is lost or wasted annually*. Not only does this embody all of the labour, land, energy, water, and nutrients that went into producing this, wasted food is problematic for 2 major reasons.

The first is that many times this food is still fit for consumption, but is just not sold or has the appropriate end market; this fit-for-consumption food represents a resource for people that for a very long time has not had effective ways to get to those who need it. The second is that when food ends up in a landfill it produces methane, which is a greenhouse gas with up to 28 times GWP (global warming potential) of CO2**.

What is the most significant/tangible benefit of the Save-On-Foods food rescue program?

• As of September 2024, we’ve donated the equivalent of 70 million meals through food rescue alone
• Our farm donations go to over 1,700 farms across the provinces we operate in
• Our network of charities and farms number over 3,000
• Despite adding 30 new Save-On-Foods stores since 2016, our total store-related GHG emissions have gone down by 16% through the impact of food rescue.

How have you been able to do this?

In 2018 we announced a goal to reduce food waste by 50% in our stores, which we accomplished ahead of time and within 2 years. We did not do it alone though!

We rely on the food rescue organizations that we partner with – in some cases social enterprises and in others charities – to handle the arrangement of who is picking up from our stores and where that food goes. If not for this significant network, we wouldn’t be able to achieve close to these donation amounts or waste avoidance.

The team members in our stores contribute greatly through their care and attention, ensuring that edible food goes to the right organizations and with enough time to be eaten. If food is no longer edible or is an inedible part, they play a key role in separating it to be composted rather than just throwing it away in the garbage.

We also rely on our food rescue partners to collect data so we can understand our impact and also how we can reduce our food surplus in general, and put what we do have to its best and highest use.

What’s the benefit of talking about this now for the company and why do you do this? Why are you just talking about this now?

Over time the problem of avoidable food loss has grown in visibility and the mind of our community members, with both a local and global focus. One way to contribute to a solution is to ensure we’re making the best use of what we have, and to support a network to match our surplus to those who could use it.

In 2018 we announced the goal to reduce food waste by 50% in our stores, which we accomplished ahead of time and within 2 years. In 2023 we hit the milestone of keeping 93% of surplus food out of landfills, with over 74% going to the highest uses of charities for people and then food to feed farm animals. We keep the rest of that 93% out of the landfill by composting what isn’t suitable for consumption like damaged or outdated items, or trimmings and inedible parts from things like produce.

We believe we have an important role in making the best use of our resources and supporting our communities, both of which can be done in part through food rescue. We’re sharing the story of our food rescue success to inspire other businesses and organizations to participate in similar programs, and shed light on the incredible food rescue organizations and charities that connect food with the people who can use it.

What makes this different; isn’t there only one way to donate food?

We want to recognize, applaud, and encourage anything that a business or organization is doing to enable excess food to go to its best and highest use, and acknowledge that a food rescue program can take extra time from staff and oversight. It should also be noted that nothing requires food to go to best and highest use, and only some municipal bans require that food stays out of the landfill. With all of this in mind, it’s important to recognize the efforts and added impact of any program a company or organization chooses to participate in.

A difference in managed food rescue programs, like those Save-On-Foods works with, is that there are partner organizations who build and manage networks of charities and/or farmers to pick up from locations, and also that match the needs of a recipient with the type of business and food generated from it. These networks will often include multiple recipients that can be called on for different days, locations, and types of food surplus, and substituted if needed. It’s like a very specific and very time sensitive supply chain, going from one (the grocery store) to many (the charities and farms). Without this oversight and process, there can be gaps where there might not be a recipient for the food, and therefore may not have options other than it going to waste.

How do you know the food you donate is safe for people to eat?

Most of the surplus food in a food-centered business is often still edible – it is just extra or goes unsold. When segregating products for donation versus compost, the overall quality of the food is considered. If it’s deemed still good for consumption and goes in the donation stream, we expect the charities or farms that are end recipients of that food to also evaluate its suitability for where it is going, given what type of product it is. As the food rescued from Save-On-Foods goes to over 3,000 charities and farms, there is a variety of specific conditions they may have. They are also the experts in their space.

If there is even a chance that food would not be safe to be eaten (if it was recalled, unsealed containers, or other violations) it would not end up in the donations stream.

Are you just giving people outdated or 'bad' food?

While we do our best to limit the amount of excess or unsold food that ends up in our stores, some is unavoidable. We have a hierarchy of how our excess food is distributed:

1. If it is fit for people to consume, it will go to a charity where that network is available. This is often the case for excess products or fresh items that just might not have found a customer to take it home in time.
2. If it’s still good to consume but not the quality standards we’d expect for people, it goes to farms to feed animals.
3. Product that isn’t fit for either, like inedible parts, damaged, or outdated items that are not suitable to be consumed is composted. This would be similar to what would go in a household green waste bin but on a larger scale.

Often there is nothing wrong with the food that we donate! Especially with fresh products like meats, fruits and vegetables, dairy, and eggs, we may just have too much and know we won’t sell through it in time to still be good. These programs allow us to donate this food before it’s ‘bad.’

There are also a variety of reasons why some food isn’t brought home with a shopper, like small blemishes or imperfections, or a store just having more than it needs to meet demand. Often it can be specialty and higher price items, as these are more difficult to forecast and can be evaluated for greater aesthetic qualities.

For our food that goes to farms, there is the ability to repurpose produce that might be too ripe or bruised, baked goods that might be a day past their prime, or even flowers from our floral department that are a treat for some animals!

How do you determine what a ‘meal’ is?

Our calculation of meals is based on the average of 1.2 lbs of donated food, and based only on the amount given to people-focused food distribution or providing charities. This total does not include donations to farms or products that go to compost.

Do your numbers account for all food products or just edible food? (I.e. does it include scraps, trimmings, etc.)

Our figures account for all food, food ingredients, and inedible parts. Of course things like inedible food would go to compost, but contribute to our overall 93% of food being kept out of landfills. Most of our unsold edible food still goes to charities and farms.

How do you know your numbers?

Part of our food rescue program is gathering data on our donations and where they end up. As we work with several food recovery partners, part of this agreement is reporting the information on how much food is donated and to what stream (charity and farm). Our partner Food Mesh provides a valuable service in gathering, aggregating, and presenting data on where our food is going. This information is combined with other data on ‘shrink’ in our stores and the amount going into the waste stream. This is compiled and assessed by this third party in accordance with accepted food loss and waste accounting methodology.

The live store-specific dashboard and yearly reporting (Annual Food Loss and Waste reports) that’s produced lets us know not only how well we’re doing with keeping food out of the landfill, but also allows us insight into where our surplus food is coming from so we can focus on preventing that specific source or excess food.

Are you being selective in your data?

This represents an assessment of all of our data, which is compiled and reported on by a third party - FoodMesh. Our figures are based on all reasonably measured and estimated data (where exact measurements are not obtainable) of donations to charities and farms, what goes to compost, and what ends up in landfills. This data represents all of our 187 Save-On-Foods stores.

Does all your donated food for people go to food banks?

When we decided to share our food rescue story, we realized it was a lot to communicate well in a 30 and 15 second commercial! We decided to use the term food bank as a part of telling this story, as this is a term most people understand and recognize as a food distribution charity. Though there can be structural differences between food charities such as food banks, food pantries, and food-specific distribution charities, we are using ‘food bank’ to refer to any organized charity with the activity of distributing food free of cost (whether as-is or value added, like upcycling) to those in need.

Why do you have excess food at all; wouldn’t the issue of excess food be better solved by not having any in the first place?

While the ideal scenario is to meet customer demand and also not have any excess when dealing with food (fresh and perishable products especially) it’s the unfortunate reality that there might always be some left over, or product that is less than perfect for someone to buy.

While we have implemented a number of measures to better forecast the amount and variety of products in our stores, a variety of factors can impact sales, and therefore how much food might go unsold. We will continue to improve how we put our unsold food to its best and highest use because we believe it’s the right thing to do. We will also continue to eliminate as much surplus as possible.

There have been reports of food items found in dumpsters and/or destined for the landfill; how do you explain that?

While we do everything that we can to ensure our food goes to best and highest use, there are some times that it isn’t suitable to end up potentially eaten by people or donated to a farm.

As with any program or process, ensuring it’s running smoothly and to the standards it should be is important; a big part of our food rescue programs is training on how and when to sort out different food products to go to charities and farms. We ensure that if we see our donation numbers decrease, the team members at our stores are given a refresher and doing what they should be with that product. While there may be an occasional gap in the process we are confident that the vast majority of product goes where it should within this system.

Are you just taking credit for something you have to do anyway?

While there are landfill bans for produce and food products in some municipalities, there is no requirement to rescue food that could otherwise be eaten. This is a voluntary program with the goal of putting one of our most significant resources – food - to its best and highest use. Rather than sending everything to compost in these areas, we choose to rescue what can be first.

We support initiatives to keep food out of the waste stream and encourage other businesses and organizations that deal with food to consider rescue opportunities where prevention is not always possible.

Is this taking credit for other charitable endeavors, like food bank donations from customers?

Our 70 million meals figure is just from food rescue; food that otherwise might have gone to waste in our stores. Our Save-On-Foods stores have food drives and food bank donation programs throughout the year for local charities. This number also excludes corporate giving and any food collection boxes in our stores. We are very grateful for our customers' support for all of the donations in food and funds around the year that are not part of these figures.

I'm in need of food; can I pick up from your store?

For food donations for individuals, we suggest contacting local food banks or food pantry organizations to see what programs and services might be available in your area. There are a variety of food banks, pantries, and distribution charities all over Canada that work with a variety of donors. While the food you’d receive might not come from a Save-On-Foods, there’s a growing awareness and participation from organizations for food rescue.

We also suggest reaching out to our major food rescue partners Food Mesh or Loop Resources on availability to join the program for charities or farms.

Does this make groceries cost more?

It doesn’t cost us more to do this, all factors considered, and therefore it isn’t passed on to our customers in the cost of our products. Though it does take extra care by our team members to ensure that product is set aside at the right times, and separated for charities to be able to use the items in the best way, overall the cost of food rescue to us is less over time than traditional disposal of any surplus or inedible food. Anything that’s unsold has to ultimately go somewhere, and we’ve found that it’s actually less expensive to take the extra care of handling it in our stores and any other food rescue-associated costs.

Do you get a tax break or some type of incentive for these donations?

No we do not receive a tax or any other financial incentive to handle excess food this way or make these donations.