Ever wonder where all the food goes when it's passed its shelf life on the grocery store shelves like yoghurt, eggs, and bread?  Or marked fruit and vegetables damaged in transport, or looking a shriveled and wilted?  These items have been going to your local landfill as they are deemed no longer safe for human consumption. 

However, pigs quite relish the idea of eating wrinkly cucumbers that are left behind in produce bins. They most certainly would revel in ice-cream treats that got squished or melted on their way to the display cases. Chickens would appreciate pecking at a pound of pock-marked peppers or slightly turned tomatoes. 

You get the idea!

Loop is a Canadian organization which connects local farms with local grocers to safely and efficiently divert food waste from landfills by passing it on to farmers for livestock feed or compost.

Boundary Co-op has been participating in this food waste reduction project over the past year through their Boissevain, Deloraine and Killarney food stores. 

Knowing that good food was going to the landfill, they wanted to find local partners to help build a solution where they simultaneously divert food away from the landfill and build more sustainable community.  So began their partnership with Loop Resource. 

Each week Boundary Co-op diverts as much as 1300 pounds of waste from local landfills through the Loop program.

"The Loop program is ongoing at our food stores, and we've seen great strides in diverting food waste," says Boundary Co-op Marketing Manager, Cheryl Rushing.

"Typically, it is food that has surpassed its shelf life, or if you have any kind of food spoilage, these types of things are eligible for the loop program," she explains. "So, local farms can take advantage of the program to feed any livestock like pigs and chickens."

"It is a really interesting program and there are a lot of Co-ops that participate, and I believe across western Canada there are several thousands of farmers benefit from the program.  So, if you think about how much waste that diverts from landfills, it makes quite a difference," adds Rushing.

Folks can find out more about the Loop program and enroll by visiting Boundary Co-op's website .. or simply click HERE!

 

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