Thank you, Mr. Chair and members, for the opportunity to speak today.
Second Harvest is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to environmental protection and hunger relief through food redistribution, research, awareness and education. We work with thousands of food businesses from right across the supply chain to reduce the amount of edible food going to waste, preventing the unnecessary release of greenhouse gases. Our inclusive model ensures that this healthy, surplus food is redirected to thousands of charities and non-profits across the country from coast to coast to coast, making their way to the millions of Canadians experiencing food insecurity in our country.
As Canada’s largest food rescue organization, Second Harvest appreciates this committee’s focus on the issue of food insecurity and would like to take this opportunity to outline how our country’s food waste crisis is adding to the issue and how we can address it.
Fifty-eight per cent of all food produced for Canadians, approximately 35.5 million tonnes, is lost or wasted annually, bypassing the dinner tables of Canadian families and adding over 56 million tonnes of greenhouse gases to our atmosphere while, at the same, 5.6 million Canadians are food insecure.
Addressing food waste is a critical part of the issue of food insecurity. Taking action to support food waste reduction and diversion initiatives can reduce supply issues, mitigate transportation challenges, reduce CO2 emissions, lessen our reliance on imports and redistribute millions of tonnes of edible food to families and communities in need. In order to address the issue of food insecurity and its negative impact on Canadians, we are making two policy recommendations to this committee.
First, we are asking this committee to support the revival of the surplus food rescue program. The surplus food rescue program was introduced in July 2020 as part of Canada’s COVID response. Through this program, Second Harvest was able to purchase over nine million pounds of fresh surplus food like eggs, chicken, salmon and fresh produce that we then redistributed to over 350 communities across Canada. The surplus food rescue program was an example of government leadership and action that had a real impact on the lives of countless Canadians, including our producers. Unfortunately, while the program no longer exists, it is now needed more than ever.
Second, we are asking the committee to support the creation of a tax credit to incentivize Canadian businesses to reduce their food waste and provide surplus food to organizations that can redistribute it. Some provinces have already taken this step. Quebec’s tax credit resulted in an increase of fresh food being donated to food charities in the first year; however, provincial tax credits only apply to producers, meaning that over 100,000 Canadian businesses have the ability to reduce their food waste but do not have an incentive to do so.
Second Harvest commends this committee for acting on the issue of global food insecurity. Global conflicts and instability have impacted the stability and predictability of the food supply chain, and Canadians are feeling the effect. However, we have the ability to address a number of these challenges by taking action within our own borders.
It is time for us to face the uncomfortable truth that Canada has a food waste crisis, and I ask all members of this committee for their efforts and support to address this crisis head-on.
Thank you.