Feeding The 5000 YYC

Feeding the 5000 will provide free lunch to Calgarians on Thursday, June 15 at Olympic Plaza while creating awareness about the issue of food waste. Organizations committed to food waste reduction, such as LeftOvers Calgary, the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) and the Recycling Council of Alberta (RCA) have teamed up to host the event.

Feeding the 5000 is a global movement that sheds light on the issue of food waste and aims to feed 5000 people with perfectly edible food that would have otherwise been thrown away – this includes imperfect fruits and vegetables, food close to its best-before date, and leftovers from overstock and oversupply. A volunteer team of Calgary chefs, led by SAIT instructor, Andrew Hewson, will transform the collected food into a delicious and nutritious meal.

By hosting Feeding the 5000 in the downtown core, organizers hope to engage and educate all Calgarians – everyone is welcome and are invited to be a part of the movement against food waste.

“Food is wasted at every stage of production from, farm to table, it’s important that citizens are aware where waste happens and how they can participate in reducing waste,” says Lourdes Juan, Founder of LeftOvers Calgary.

Approximately 170,000 tonnes of edible food, or 300 million meals are sent to Canadian landfills each year, making food waste one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gasses. In addition to serving a free lunch for 5000 people, and raising awareness about food waste, the goal of Feeding the 5000 Calgary is to divert 1000 kg of food from the landfill.

Courtesy of the Regency Hyatt, we have 10 tips to help reduce food waste.

1. Overlook the flaws
Over 30 per cent of fruits and vegetables are rejected by grocery stores because they aren’t physically attractive enough for consumers, even though they’re perfectly edible. Look for grocery stores and greenhouses that sell imperfect produce.

2. Buy only what you need
If you prepare meals ahead of time it is easy to reduce the groceries you purchase each week. Canadian households throw away an average of $28 worth of food weekly ($1,456 per year).

3. Learn to love leftovers
Rather than toss the leftovers from dinner, wrap them up and put them in the fridge. They make great lunches for work or spark an opportunity to get creative with the next night’s dinner.

4. Meal sharing
Invite some friends over dinners. Feeding someone is better than allowing it to go to waste and it’s another great reason to socialize.

5. Grow Your Own
Gardening is a great pastime and it can eliminate waste since you grow only what you need. If you have extra give it to friends, donate it to local organizations or sell it.

6. Freeze it
When an expiration date is nearing and you cannot prepare the item before this date, throw it in the freezer. Most items will last at least 30 more days when you they are properly stored inside of the refrigerator.

7. Make a pledge
Pledge to stop food waste and make a commitment to that pledge. You’ll feel great and you’ll save money.

8. Volunteer
Volunteer to rescue food headed for landfills. Leftovers Calgary and Alternate Root YYC are organizations that rescues food that would otherwise be thrown into the landfill, and ensures it gets to service agencies in need.

9. Repackage foods
If you buy in bulk or larger quantities, separate the meats and store individual portions inside of freezer bags.

10. Donate It
If you’ve accumulated more food than what you can use before it expires, you can donate it to food banks and other centres in YYC that would appreciate your donation.

Why not put these tips to work and minimize the amount of food you are wasting before tonight’s dinner?

The Feeding the 5000 event will run on Thursday, June 15 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., or until the food runs out, at Olympic Plaza. For more information, please visit www.f5kyyc.com.

Editor’s note: This post was written in part by Feeding the 5000 and The Hyatt Regency to create awareness around food waste. If you would like to promote your Downtown business or event, please email [email protected].

Tagged as: #IAMDOWNTOWN, Feeding The 5000, Olympic Plaza