Too Good To Go provides a simple solution that empowers businesses and consumers to reduce the 13,000 tonnes of food that goes to waste each year in Metro Vancouver
After successfully entering the Canadian market with a launch in Toronto in July, Too Good To Go is proud to bring its global movement to the west coast. Launching today in Vancouver, Too Good To Go is calling on all Vancouverites to start saving meals and help Canada become a nation of #WasteWarriors.
Too Good To Go is the world’s largest B2C marketplace for surplus food. The company and its app empower the public and local businesses to fight food waste by offering Surprise Bags of food that would otherwise go to waste at the end of the day.
The fight against food waste needs to be tackled at every level and in every country. Globally, 40 percent of all food goes to waste, which accounts for 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions yearly; for comparison, flight travel contributes 1 per cent, globally.
Nationally, Canadians throw out 35.5 million tonnes of food, equivalent to the weight of nearly 1.2 million humpback whales. Food waste has a significant economic impact as well, in British Columbia an estimated $1.3 billion worth of food is wasted per year in food store and food service businesses, which is 57 per cent more than the estimated profit in those sectors.
“Reducing food waste is the most immediate and effective way to fight climate change”, said Sam Kashani, Too Good To Go, Country Manager for Canada. “Imagine a world where all food that gets produced is consumed. We are very inspired by that. The Too Good To Go app is a tangible solution that brings everyone into the fight against food waste.”
In Vancouver, Too Good To Go has partnered with over 90 businesses across the city with notable sustainability leaders such as Nada, Terra Breads, Flourist and Be Fresh – with more added every day.
Said Brianne Miller, Co-Founder and CEO of zero waste grocery store, Nada, “our team is thrilled to partner with fellow B-Corporation Too Good to Go to tackle one of the world’s most pressing climate issues: surplus food. Nada is on a mission to connect people to a more just and equitable food system. By participating in this program we’re excited to continue our food recovery initiatives by linking customers to surplus food, and making sure that the valuable resources used to grow, transport, and distribute food do not go to waste.”
“We have always considered ourselves responsible for the improvement of the communities we serve,” said Michael Lansky, President and Founder of Terra Breads.”It’s this purpose that drives Terra Breads to contribute to communities through partnerships with organizations such as Too Good To Go. We’re proud to demonstrate our commitment to improving our communities with this perfect partnership! To feed more people with the food we’re already making is good for everyone. Too Good To Go fits with our purpose perfectly”.
During the pandemic production has been upended and purchase habits have been unpredictable, often leading to increased food waste. Said Janna Bishop, Co-Founder and CEO of Vancouver-based, Flourist, “our goal is to have as little waste as possible. We’ve learned to creatively adapt during the past year by having new distribution streams for our products. Too Good To Go provides the perfect solution to connect us with customers to help ensure that surplus food is not wasted.”
“We are so excited to partner with Too Good to Go on this phenomenal food waste tool. Fighting food waste not only helps our planet in combating climate change, but also aids in supporting food security, one of our pillars of sustainability that we are extremely passionate about. It is an awesome way of helping customers become part of the solution,” Ashley Sugar, Manager of Organic Acres and Be Fresh stores in Vancouver.
Vancouverites will now join the more than 44 million people, globally, who have saved more than 91 million meals at more than 110,000 restaurants, cafes, grocery stores and food sellers on the Too Good to Go app. Since launching in Toronto, Too Good To Go has saved 20,000+ meals from 350+ partner restaurants and stores. The company anticipates an equally vibrant response from customers and business owners in Vancouver and is excited to continue to expand throughout Canada in the coming months.
