Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
This holiday season, Santa Claus is asking Canadians to break with tradition for a good cause. Santa is urging families to skip leaving out milk and cookies and instead start “A New Tradition” by donating to Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization.
“You know the milk and cookies you leave out for me? They’re delicious, but I’ve had far more than my fair share,” Santa writes. “And truthfully, there are people struggling to put food on the table. There are more than 10 million Canadians experiencing hunger. That’s why this year I ask that you please skip my meal and pass one on to a family who needs it instead by donating to Second Harvest.”
Hunger is an increasing concern in Canada, with one in four people uncertain about where their next meal will come from. Every day, millions of Canadians struggle to put food on the table while perfectly good food goes to waste. Families should not have to choose between paying bills and eating healthy meals.
This holiday season, Santa suggests people can help by starting “A New Tradition” and donating to Second Harvest. Every dollar donated in December will be matched by the Nikita Foundation, doubling the impact of your gift.
Last year, Second Harvest rescued and redistributed 95 million pounds of food to over 10,800 non-profit programs across Canada, helping to prevent food waste and combat hunger nationwide. “Even the smallest donation can have an incredible impact,” said Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest. “One dollar can provide ten meals of nutritious food to those who need it most. Together, we can ensure that no one goes hungry this holiday season.”
People can support this campaign and make a secure one-time donation at secondharvest.ca/donate.
Second Harvest is Canada’s largest food rescue organization and a global leader in addressing food waste and the redistribution of perishable food. It rescues unsold surplus food from thousands of businesses across the supply chain and redistributes it to non-profits in every province and territory, including its partner organization in Rosthern, Good Neighbours Food Centre. This effort not only prevents harmful greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere but also improves access to nutrition for millions of Canadians facing food insecurity.
In addition to food rescue and redistribution, Second Harvest is actively engaged in advocacy, research, training, and education. Its groundbreaking reports, such as “The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste,” provide critical data and insights that inform public policy and educate the public about sustainable food systems.
Second Harvest is committed to driving systemic change by shaping policies and practices that reduce food waste and address its contribution to climate change. The organization also supports communities by providing essential food resources.
Every year, Canadians discard enough edible food to feed over 17 million people, which represents 46.5 percent of all food produced in Canada. This waste generates 124.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gases annually. Out of this wasted food, 41.7 percent could potentially be redirected to assist fellow Canadians.
In 2025, Second Harvest and its partners rescued and redistributed 95.3 million pounds of food, averting the emission of 309 million pounds of greenhouse gases. (https://www.secondharvest.ca/)
Studying food waste is crucial for creating actionable solutions and guiding all participants in the food system, from farmers to manufacturers and distributors to retailers, restaurants, government officials, and individual consumers.
The positive news is that the overall amount of food waste has declined. However, avoidable food waste—food that is still edible—has actually increased. This rise in avoidable waste is particularly concerning in an environment where food affordability has sharply escalated. In the face of soaring food inflation and overwhelmed food charities, we are discarding more surplus food than we did five years ago.
Economically, food waste affects everyone. For businesses, it leads to lost revenue and increased costs, which can squeeze profit margins. For consumers, the cost of food waste is reflected in the prices we pay for food and beverages, and managing waste contributes to municipal taxes and disposal fees.
One of the most significant causes of food waste is grading regulations and specifications set by the government and industry, which often result in perfectly edible food being discarded if it does not meet visual or grading standards.
Two other major drivers of food waste that have grown significantly over the past five years and affect the entire supply chain are best-before dates (BBDs) and changing weather patterns or climate. Another factor that needs to be addressed is the fact that industries lack the economic incentives to appropriately manage and process food waste.
Unlike expiry dates, which apply to only five specific food types in Canada, BBDs are merely general guidelines for freshness, taste, and nutritional value.
Foods with a shelf life of 90 days or less require Best Before Dates (BBDs), yet these dates are found on nearly all products. Introduced in Canada in 1976 for foods with short shelf lives, BBDs no longer accurately reflect a product’s actual shelf life or safety. While they were originally intended to help manage inventory and guide consumers, BBDs have become a major source of unnecessary food waste both at home and in the industry. In fact, they contribute to 23 percent of the 7.24 million tonnes of avoidable food waste occurring from processing to purchase. BBDs can mislead consumers into discarding perfectly good items such as canned vegetables, rice, pasta, dairy, and fresh produce. (https://www.secondharvest.ca/)
Nearly 1 in 4 people in Canada don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
“The charitable food system as it exists today in Canada is an invisible network. It needs to be demystified, destigmatized, disrupted, and deinstitutionalized so it can better achieve its purpose of providing fresh, healthy food (that would otherwise be wasted) to Canadians who need it.”
(Canada’s Invisible Food Network, www.SecondHarvest.ca/Research)
