New App Helps Fight Food Waste in Canada
Canadian food retailers have a new solution for selling surplus products while saving the planet. Sauvegarde, a new food waste reduction initiative based in Montreal, has launched a mobile app that allows cafés, bakeries, restaurants and grocery stores to upload their excess food and sell it at a discount.
"Food waste is a huge problem globally. Sauvegarde is changing this with its seamless app," said Johny Saliby, founder of online marketplace Sauvegarde.
Globally, wasted food accounts for about 8% of all greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Additionally, Second Harvest has indicated that roughly 30% of the food waste in Canada occurs at the retail and distribution level.
Moreover, consumers want to shop at retailers that are committed to fixing the global issue of food waste, according to a new survey commissioned by Afresh Technologies, a company dedicated to building solutions that eliminate waste. Almost 60% of the respondents to the survey conducted by Momentive said that they're extremely or very concerned about food waste. If shoppers know that a store is committed to reducing food waste, they're significantly more likely to support the store. The survey showed that:
- 63% will feel more compelled to shop there.
- 52% would shop there more frequently.
- 52% would recommend the store to family and friends.
According to Sauvegarde, its solution is a win-win-win: Users get meals at a great price, merchants recover their sunk costs while reaching out to new customers, and the planet benefits from less wasted food.
A number of businesses in the greater Montreal area have already joined the pilot phase of the project, including:
- Food chains: Rôtisseries St-Hubert Ltée and Toujours Mikes.
- Food distributors: Groupe Alimentaire Miron and Cucina Fine Foods.
- Grocery stores: Fruiterie Milano, Marché BKR, Le Paradis du Fromage, Boucherie La Petite-Patrie, La Baia Dei Formaggi, Épicerie SODA, Épices et tout (Longueuil) and Le Palais de l'Épicerie Fine (Laval).
- Bakeries/cafés: San Pietro, Louise, Mr Pinchot, Bémol et Levain, Bela Vista, La Brume dans mes lunettes, Trou de Beigne, À les sens ciel, Pâtisserie de la Gare, Pâtisserie Coup de Foudre, Pâtisserie Mahroussé, Pâtisserie Parc Sans Gluten, Café DAX, Café Code Noir, Presse Café (Little Italy) and Pâtisserie Ô Gateries (Longueuil).
Sauvegarde has aligned its food waste goal with the city of Montreal to help reduce the city's food waste by 50% by 2025, and reach zero waste by 2030. "We can achieve these goals by combining our efforts and by working as a community – positive change is imminent," said Saliby.
