The idea is to curb food waste down to nothing sa国际传媒� and itsa国际传媒檚 working.

In the past four months, Chilliwack has been the pilot site for a food-waste diversion project thatsa国际传媒檚 being called a sa国际传媒済ame-changer.sa国际传媒�

Save-On-Foods joined forces with Food Banks BC, FoodMesh, Loop Resource, and charities like Chilliwack Salvation Army to reach the goal of sa国际传媒渮ero surplus and potentially wasted foodsa国际传媒� ending up in the waste stream.

A lot has been accomplished.

sa国际传媒淓very item they cansa国际传媒檛 use, we are getting it,sa国际传媒� said Don Armstrong, coordinator of the Chilliwack Salvation Army Food Bank, picking up some fresh asparagus and packages of sushi received from Save-On.

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Black Press Media stopped by the food bank last week to see how the pilot project was working, as Sally Ann volunteers and staff combed through six pallets of boxed produce, dairy, and baked goods from Save-On-Foods.

Out of a weeksa国际传媒檚 worth of food, they maybe had one garbage bag full they couldnsa国际传媒檛 put to use.

sa国际传媒淭he program works fantastic,sa国际传媒� said Armstrong, adding they can use about 90 per cent of what they have been getting, and farmers will come by every day to pick up whatsa国际传媒檚 left to feed their livestock.

sa国际传媒淧eople are coming in and theysa国际传媒檙e loving the stuff that we are able to give them,sa国际传媒� said Armstrong. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e giving them apples, wesa国际传媒檙e giving them oranges, bananas, sandwiches, deli meats, roasts, and turkeys.sa国际传媒�

The food-waste diversion is now operational in more than half of the 170 Save-On-Foods stores across the province, including all three in Chilliwack, where the pilot has been redirecting food in a consistent, safe, and measurable way.

The grocery chain spent the past year trying to surpass its company-wide goal to reduce food waste by 50 per cent by 2025.

sa国际传媒淲e have been composting perishable waste where possible for a number of years, but we knew we could do better,sa国际传媒� said Darrell Jones, president of Save-On-Foods, in a release.

The idea is to eventually see the initiative rolled out in all Save-On stores across Western Canada.

sa国际传媒淲ith close to 1.5 million metric tonnes valued at close to $6.4 billion dollars of surplus edible food wasted each year in B.C. and close to 100,000 individuals struggling to put food on the table, perishable food recovery with our partner, Save-On-Foods, has been a true game-changer,sa国际传媒� said Laura Lansink, executive director of Food Banks BC.

So where is it all heading?

sa国际传媒淲hat wesa国际传媒檙e hoping is that other grocery stores will see what Save-On-Foods is doing, and get on board, so we can get all this food out of the landfills,sa国际传媒� Armstrong said.

jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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