Nearly 60 percent of food produced in Canada – amounting to 35.5 million metric tonnes – is lost and wasted annually. Of that, 32 percent – equalling 11.2 million metric tonnes of lost food – is avoidable and is edible food that could be redirected to support people in our communities. The total financial value of this potentially rescuable lost and wasted food is a staggering $49.46 billion.

These unprecedented findings are the result of a year-long research project undertaken by Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization, and Value Chain Management International, a leading public and industry voice in the area of food waste. This ground- breaking report is being released today in Toronto.

The report, funded by the Walmart Foundation, is the first to use front-line, primary data from the entire food supply chain. It is also the first to create a standardized system of measurement that can be used by any food business – in Canada and globally – to track and reduce their food loss and waste.

The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste is available as a solution-focused Roadmap and a 122-page Technical Report from SecondHarvest.ca/Research.