Waste on One Plate, Want on Another: Canada's Food Crisis

An estimated 2.3 million tonnes of edible food is wasted every year in Canada, amounting to over $20 billion in value. In fact, the average Canadian household generates about $1,300 in avoidable food waste annually.

At the same time, food bank use in Canada has reached record highs. One in ten Torontonians now rely on food banks, according to a 2024 report. Per the Daily Bread Food Bank, this represents an increase of nearly one million visits from the previous year (a 38% surge) and the highest number of visits ever recorded, with the report asserting that food insecurity has reached crisis levels in Toronto.

In commemoration of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste Reduction (29 September) and World Food Day (16 October), Canadians can all contribute to reducing avoidable food waste that ends up in landfills.

Since 2015, there has been a significant rise in food insecurity worldwide, fueled by a variety of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and price gouging.

Between 2019 and 2023, there was an alarming increase of 383 million people facing moderate to severe food insecurity. The figure stood at 2.3 billion in 2023.

With a growing number of people lacking access to nutritious food, reducing household food waste is imperative for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger.

In Toronto, over 50 per cent of wasted food from single-family homes was avoidable. Reducing this waste requires donating more food, purchasing only what we need, planning meals to minimize consumption and educating ourselves on proper food disposal methods.

Food waste is not only a concern that impacts society’s well-being; it is also detrimental to the environment. When food scraps end up in landfills, they produce harmful methane gas, contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Educating ourselves on how to avoid improper food disposal is essential for preventing this GHG buildup in landfills. For example, refraining from throwing food scraps in the garbage is a critical first step, but there is more to learn.

The Toronto Green Bin program is designed for unavoidable food waste, such as eggshells and fruit peels and cores. Spoilt food and leftovers are considered avoidable food waste; when thrown in green bins, they create a need for additional resource management and incur higher costs to sustain these systems. So, we should aim to reduce the amount of avoidable food waste that ends up in the green bins and refrain from discarding it in the trash.

According to a 2022 study, avoidable food waste accounts for about 63 per cent of discarded food annually in Canada. Based on these numbers, it is clear that individuals have a significant responsibility to reduce their consumption and to plan meals effectively to avoid throwing out perishables before they are ready to be eaten.

In addition to the need to curb food waste, there is also a pressing need for the government to step in and ensure that all Canadians have enough to eat, as noted in the 2024 Who’s Hungry report.

The Daily Bread Food Bank stated in 2023 that “Food insecurity cannot be left to charities to solve; hunger is a public policy issue requiring public policy solutions.” A similar message followed in 2024: “…we expect to exceed 4 million visits by this time next year. These are

not records we are proud to break—nor are these service levels that we as charities should shoulder on our own.”

Food prices in Canada have soared since the pandemic, contributing significantly to food insecurity alongside the issue of unaffordable housing. According to Statistics Canada, grocery prices in Canada have risen by 22.5 per cent since May 2020.

While food banks struggle to meet the growing demand of hungry Canadians, grocery giant Loblaws reported a 31.3 per cent increase in profits in 2023, amounting to $508 million in earnings.

Data compiled by researchers at Dalhousie University indicates that large grocers in Canada have seen a trend of rising profits compared to their average past performance.

According to a recent academic study, in 2022, “Empire/Sobeys earned an excess of $56 million; Metro earned an excess of $7 million, and Loblaw earned an excess of $436 million”. Large grocers are seeing record profits at the same time as food insecurity worldwide is growing.

SDG 2 aims to create a world without hunger by 2030. Unfortunately, at the current rate of progress, more than 600 million people worldwide are projected to be facing hunger by then.

Addressing food waste and insecurity is both a moral imperative and an environmental and economic necessity. Canadians can make significant strides toward achieving SDG 2 by making conscious choices at home and advocating for systemic change. Reducing food waste, supporting affordable food access policies and holding corporations accountable for fair pricing are all crucial steps in this collective effort. As individuals, communities and a nation, we must work together to ensure that resources and food are shared equitably, fostering a healthier and more sustainable future for all.

Edited by Ali Shahrukh Pracha

Image credit: Rachel Claire