Five resources to reduce food waste

Various resources are appearing in Quebec with a concrete proposal to reduce food waste. At the same time, they make it possible to reduce the amount of the grocery bill, which climbs at the rate of inflation. Here are five ways just a click away, to consume in an eco-responsible manner and limit spending.

Isabelle morin
Press

Foody Savior : Eat local at a reduced price

Launched in October, the Montreal app Foody Savior allows grocers and restaurants to liquidate their unsold items and obtain them, in the case of users, at a third of the price. Food is sourced from grocery stores, bakeries and restaurants spread across various areas of the metropolis, and covers a range of culinary specialties. Foody Savior resells these foodstuffs in the form of surprise baskets which are reserved before being collected from the merchant. The app offers the option to make a selection by food preferences and comes in a simple and effective form. It is available on Google Play, but is slow to make its arrival on the Apple Store. However, she promises to be there soon.

With all the food waste generated in Canada in one year – 11.2 million tonnes of food safe to eat – all Canadians could be fed for almost five months.

Source: Recyc-Quebec

Too Good to Go : Too good for the trash

Too Good to Go also saves unsold items in cafes, shops and restaurants. Shops offer their surprise baskets at the end of the day at attractive prices. You reserve on the application before collecting your purchases at the selected store. We can expect anything. The merchant decides what will appear in the basket based on the products he has to sell. At the time of our visit to the application, there were, among other things, prepared meals at Au Pain Doré at $ 7.99 instead of $ 24 and a surprise basket from the Bread Box at $ 5.99 instead of $ 18 . Too Good To Go was launched in Denmark in 2015 and has since caught on. The formula has been proven and the offer is already interesting in Montreal. It is available on Google Play and Apple Store.

Milk is still good seven days after its expiration date and yogurt two weeks after. The consumption period extends up to four weeks after the cut-off date in the case of eggs.

Source: Food Hero

Second Life Market: Bringing Imperfect Food to Life

Second Life rescues from “ugly” products by focusing, she says, on taste rather than appearance. Last year, the local business, despite what its name might suggest, made its debut by putting its customers in touch with Quebec farms eager to sell their imperfect fruits and vegetables. Since the fall, it has been expanding its offer with Proudly Different. This new component opens up the concept to other foods that are surplus or do not meet the criteria of conventional grocery stores, either because of their appearance or because of packaging errors. There are breads, desserts, spreads, snacks, condiments, drinks and spices. The prices are generally favorable, but you have to keep an eye on the inventory. The still modest offer is set to improve with the collaboration of new players. Purchases can be picked up at collection points or by home delivery ($ 5).

Montreal households are responsible for 21% of food waste in Canada. The average Montrealer produces about 464 kg of waste each year, more than half of which ends up in landfill.

Source: The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste (2019)

Food Hero : Be a zero waste hero

Food Hero has the advantage of covering all the fresh products sold in conventional grocery stores and which are sold, before being expired, at around half of their current price. It brings together different franchises of Metro, IGA and Rachelle-Béry grocers, even if not all of them are listed. At the time of our visit, ribs were sold for $ 8.10 for 772g (rather than $ 16.20), a pudding unemployed, at $ 4 rather than $ 7.99. The application also offers statistics which show the impact of the gesture on the environment; for example, a quantity of 0.4 kg of lean ground beef, bought at Rachelle-Béry, allows to justify an expenditure of 0.08 kg of CO₂ which will not have been spread in vain. Food Hero is available on Google Play and Apple Store.

60% of the 5.8 million tonnes of residual materials eliminated each year in Quebec are organic materials.

Source: Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change

Flash Food : the grocery store in green mode

Loblaws and Maxi grocers also help eliminate food waste through their app Flash Food, designed for Android and Apple. The app allows you to follow the savings of money on an annual basis and those of CO emissions₂. Like her sister Food Hero, Flash Food offers a wide variety of fresh produce at nearly 50% off that are approaching their expiration date while still safe to eat. Then all you have to do is pick up your order in the Flashfood area of ​​the participating store and confirm your purchases with customer service.