University of Saskatchewan (U of S) students filled a table with food reclaimed from dumpsters on Jan. 13 to raise awareness about food waste.
The university’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) raided dumpsters around Saskatoon and created a display of wasted food thrown out by bakeries, cafes and restaurants.
Alyssa Kimber, Food Systems co-leader of U of S’s chapter of EWB, described people’s reactions to their display as a total shock.
“It was interesting to watch everyone’s expressions as they walked by the table because they all changed from interest to total disbelief when they realized where all the food came from,” she said.
According to the United Nations, roughly one-third of food is wasted worldwide. A report conducted by the Value Chain Management International (VCMI), an organization which co-authored reports on food waste, estimates about 40 per cent of food in Canada is wasted.
Angela Howell, co-leader with Kimber, said they made the display to show the staggering statistics.
She said restaurants and grocery stores waste a lot of food in theory, but they wanted to prove it was happening.
“We waste approximately $27 billion worth of food annually in Canada—that’s higher than the total GDP of the 32 poorest countries combined,” said Howell.
A recent release from VCMI estimates these figures have risen. The report states that Canada wasted approximately $31 billion in 2014 — that’s an increase of 15 per cent from 2010.
Irena Knezevic, a Carleton University communications professor who has done research in food systems, said food waste is a problem and groups like EWB are helping accelerate the efforts we should all be making to address it.
She said food waste is not only a social justice issue but an environmental and economic issue as well.
“If we throw almost half our food out, that means we are using twice as many resources, thereby doubling our carbon footprint, water use, and energy use,” Knezevic said.
She said this affects the economy too, as cities have to find ways to deal with an ever-increasing amount of waste, which takes money and time.
This year, Howell said U of S’s chapter of EWB is focusing on food waste and food deserts in Saskatoon, referring to areas of the city that don’t have good access to food.
