Can you help rescue good food from going to trash?
Why is Food such a terrible problem?
When food ends up in a landfill, it creates methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In fact, if global food waste were measured as a country, it would be the world’s third worst emitter of greenhouse gases... That's much worse than the pollution from our vehicles.
Would you like to contribute to a smaller food foot-print?
When food gets wasted, we’re also squandering all of our land, water, energy and other resources that went into producing it. Our monoculture food production techniques are causing widespread destruction of insect & bird species. It encourages pesticide use and encourages unnatural wildlife behaviours. Even though the City of Vancouver runs a very conscientious, highly regulated landfill, it cannot predict the flow of unintended consequences this huge volume of concentrated waste could cause in the future.
Do you live in Vancouver's West End? Can you help us?
We're running a pilot food rescue program located in the West End. We will deliver a mystery box of rescued, surplus food to your Vancouver downtown home towards the end of the week for $40 per box. We source food from local grocery stores that is destined for the landfill. The stores donate items they can't sell such as perishables that have a best-before date or the same date as delivery or one day after.
Each Mystery Box will be 30-45 lbs with staples like carrots, potatoes, onions, apples, oranges and grapes but could include more exotic fruits as well like mangoes, kiwi and pineapple. The box always contains at least one protein such as eggs, dairy or meat (- sometimes even veggie burgers and tofu for vegetarians). There may even be small meals like sushi, mac & cheese, butter chicken and pulled pork as well as a selection of breads and desserts.
Please note, (with the exception of simple vegetarians) that at this time there is very limited ability to cater to special/restricted diets. If you receive something that you can't use - please gift it forward!
Every week will be different but it's incredible value for the price! Your $40 goes towards operational costs like transport and warehousing but the food is free.
Can you still get a box if you live outside downtown?
If you live outside our delivery area, you can still participate. You just have to arrange to pick up your box from us.
What can you do to help?
Volunteer to transport boxes of rescued food to homes in your neighbourhood.
Volunteer to sort food into boxes - 1 to 2 hours once a week, typically on Fridays.
Sign up to purchase a mystery box of reclaimed food for $40.00. (Sales are final - boxes cannot be returned or refunded once received.)
Fill out this form with your full name, home address, email and mobile number
We Need Help
Learn More About Food Waste
