Walmart Foundation grant to fund Canadian project to reduce food waste

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The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity has received a grant of over US$520,000 from the Walmart Foundation to fund research into Canadian attitudes on food waste. The funding will also be used to assist food and beverage businesses make changes to achieve measurable food waste reductions.

It’s estimated that 18% of Canada’s food waste happens within over 6,500 food and beverage processing facilities across the country. To address this, the Canadian Centre for Food integrity (CCFI) will partner with Provision Coalition — a sustainability-focused organization of food and beverage manufacturers — to connect with these companies and institute food loss and waste prevention and reduction strategies in facilities.

Approximately 50% of food waste happens at the household level, says the CCFI. To better understand the Canadian consumer and how best to implement successful food waste awareness and reduction strategies, the centre will conduct first-of-its-kind public trust research into attitudes and perceptions of food waste.

In addition to the research and facility assessments, the CCFI says the grant will fund work to collect food loss and waste data from manufacturers; provide support for supply chain and government reduction commitments; and, build trust with consumers through communications.

“Today we commit to accelerating progress in Canada. We hope this grant, combined with additional grants we are making to other leading non-profits, will catalyze collective action to reduce food waste all along the food chain, from farm to fork,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and chief sustainability officer for Walmart, in a news release on Thursday.

This grant is part of the Walmart Foundation’s US$15 million commitment to prevent food waste and support food banks.

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