Beyond the Bin: Key Food Waste Solutions from North America’s Top Conferences

[00:00:00.000] Hi, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Lid’s podcast. We are here today. We are members of the nonprofit consulting team, and we had the opportunity to go to a few different conferences in the last month or so, and we learned a lot of these conferences, and so we wanted to share some of our findings with you all. So my name’s Anna. I’m a consultant at Lid, and the conferences that I attended were Feed, Ontario, and Food Banks Canada.

[00:00:32.880] Hi, my name is Maria. I’m also a food waste consultant. I attended one day of the FBC conference, and I attended the Refed conference in Seattle.

[00:00:42.840] Hello, my name is Georgina Morris. I’m also a consultant at Let’s Price Prize. I attended the FBC Food Banks Canada conference here in Montreal, and then also the Refed conference in Seattle as well.

[00:00:58.300] Maybe do we first actually want discuss what’s Feed Ontario, what’s Food Banks Canada, and what’s Refed? Yeah, sure. I think that that could be good. In case if some of our viewers don’t know, Feed Ontario is the Food Banking Association, basically, for the province of Ontario. So they oversee and assist a lot of the food banks in individual towns or cities. And then Food Banks Canada is essentially the same thing just across Canada. Do one of you wanted to talk about refed?

[00:01:30.000] Refed. Refed is a US-based nonprofit, and they work on advocacy for food waste. Anything related to food waste research and the environmental impacts of food waste. They try to unite a vast variety of different actors in the space, business leaders, non nonprofits, for-profit waste management companies, scholars, and then consultants like us, just bringing people around the table to really push for action on food waste in the US. Is that a good summary?

[00:02:16.390] Yeah, they have a good database on food loss and waste in the US at different stages of the supply chain, and also a big platform on possible solutions for that.

[00:02:26.600] Yeah. So they publish a lot of reports on food loss and waste as well, which is, check out our other podcast. We’ve already talked about the project that we here at Lid are doing with Refed to update their Insight Engine. So that’s the topic of a different podcast I’ve already done. So I won’t like it. We love the shame of this plug. We love the shame of this plug. We’re not going to do much detail about that.

[00:02:51.990] Awesome. Okay, so let’s get into talking about these conferences. So question number one, what is a specific data point that stuck with you after your respective conferences? Why did you find it interesting and where does it fit in the broader context of the food insecurity and food waste space? Who wants to start?

[00:03:13.660] I can go first.

[00:03:14.620] Usually I wanted to start. Wait, were you going to say you wanted to start?

[00:03:17.680] I was going to nominate Maria, but I can start.

[00:03:19.880] I think Maria should start, too. I think Maria should start. I agree. Maria should start. You’re being voluntold.

[00:03:26.120] So something that stuck with me at the beginning of the conference They were talking about how they saw increases in searches about food loss and waste online and the amount of users that were using Refats platform for food loss and waste. But then the numbers as percentage of food loss and waste in the US didn’t change since 2016. And so that shows that, yes, there have been some progress, but also it’s not really changing much. They said that it could be related to the fact that food prices are the main concern for customers, but also they switch to other brands and they buy in bulk. So it offsets that. And we still needed a lot of work and a lot of policy change to come back from that. It was interesting.

[00:04:19.060] Yeah, totally. Yeah. I think even just they mentioned… It was our first time going to the Refed conference, but they mentioned multiple times how much the conference itself had grown and how many more people are there now than when they first started it. I think even that is an indication that it’s an issue that has a lot of traction at the moment, which is a promising thing. And I think they did a really good job of shedding light on the promising things that are happening in this space and not just all the doom and gloom of what a huge issue is. Because I think often when we talk about numbers related to food loss and waste, it’s like The scary numbers of a third of food is wasted in the US. And if a food waste was a country, it would be the third largest emitter after the US and China. I think those are the big often the numbers that people talk about. But I think- There was a balance between positive and not so positive things.

[00:05:24.560] They were talking about successes and achievements from some states, but also also some solution providers or companies or businesses that made some strides in food loss and waste. So it was cool. They had some recognition and also we were celebrating the wins, but also addressing the other side of it.

[00:05:44.000] That’s awesome. Honestly, similar to that at the Food Banks Canada conference, one thing that stood out to me was how currently we are at a point in history where the most people ever are relying on food banks, which is just such in Canada, in Canada, which is such a scary statistic. But at the same time, the conference was such a celebration of all of the amazing work that the people who run and operate and volunteer at these food banks do, and how they help nourish the people in need of them, and how they find such creative solutions to to get more food, to procure more food, to distribute it more efficiently. And so, yeah, so I agree. It was like on the Food Banks Canada side of things, too, it was also a good balance of these are the facts, they’re scary. But there’s a lot also currently happening in that space, which is inspiring and it’s motivating. Okay, what was the role of policy and advocacy in the discussions at the conferences? Were there any specific legislative or regulatory changes being pushed?

[00:07:05.980] I think policy is a topic that came back at every session, honestly, at the Refed summit. As much as there’s solutions and solution providers and different channels to divert food loss and waste, they were always bringing it back to if there’s no policy change, that you can’t really make that happen. They were talking about the fact that landfill disposal is always the cheapest option, and it’s not really encouraging businesses to look somewhere else.

[00:07:37.140] And they even mentioned that sometimes there were franchise agreements. Do you remember? Some of the discussions we had between certain counties and landfills. They had these contractual agreements.

[00:07:52.440] They have to send it somewhere.

[00:07:54.100] Yeah. Unless they can show that there’s a different value stream that they can make money from. They have to send it to landfill. Anyway, I thought that was interesting. But there were also some positive changes. I don’t have them all to hand in my head, but they did talk about multiple states, I think, taking more action, more legislative action on setting goals to reduce their food loss and waste and to divert more from landfill and things. So there were positive things as well. And then obviously, there’s all of the context more recently with trade agreements and things which can lead to less diversion to international markets. So buy products that previously had a market in Asia, for example, suddenly these trade barriers mean that- They have no market. Yeah, that might not be diverted anymore. So that was another interesting thing that came out. Yeah, that discussion, I think. Yeah.

[00:09:00.340] Nice. So yeah, in the world of food banks, there were a few interesting sessions on working with different partners throughout the supply chain and wanting to work with people at the beginning of the supply chain where food is grown, so with farmers and growers. And they talked about the intricacies of that, because even if farmers want to be donating their food, sometimes it’s out of their hands to be doing that. If there’s a season of flooding or of drought, then it’s not really up to them if they can donate a certain amount or even the same amount that they had donated the previous year. So that was interesting. Some other policy things that we learned about.

[00:09:53.240] We could talk about the tax credits. Oh, yeah. I think this is an exciting developing space as well, the whole tax credit idea. So the idea is that donating farmers or companies would get a tax credit for the value of the food that they donate. And there are some really cool programs that are developing around this concept. So there’s something called Viandes Solidaires, in in Quebec. And I was just testing my memory now because it’s been a while since I looked at this.

[00:10:36.440] Well, maybe to keep it more broad, in case if we can’t remember the details, to my knowledge, and correct me if I’m wrong, but the only three provinces that currently do tax credits in this way, where it’s through food donations, are British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Right?

[00:10:53.340] I think so. Yeah.

[00:10:55.580] And Quebec is really pushing this and makes a good incentive with dairy producers.

[00:11:03.100] I can add something. Something that we talked about in one of the sessions is there are many things put in place in terms of policy, but there’s a lot of lack of enforceability. So there’s not enough follow-up for those policies and making sure they’re actually applied and people are actually doing things. And so many stakeholders, they’re waiting for people to tell them what to do. So once you don’t enforce those policies, they’re just not going to act on it. So there needs to be more of a push to track these policy changes.

[00:11:38.820] Oh, yeah. Landfills. How do you do that? And what’s so interesting is that landfills are the cheapest alternative. But another alternative that just requires effective communication are food banks. Food banks work often with grocery stores with manufacturers, with partners at every step in the supply chain on food recovery. And sometimes the proper relationships just need to be put in place. But that’s such an interesting intersection of our practice where we see the alignment of these things, and where landfill doesn’t necessarily have to be the only option, because a lot of food banks, they will come and they pick up directly from the businesses. So that’s a free alternative. They do the whole work. They do the entire work for these companies. And sometimes proper advocacy is just a thing that’s required for people to know that, because sometimes, I guess, people might not know that.

[00:12:41.820] Yeah, it’s a lot of awareness.

[00:12:43.120] Yeah, it’s just about having some more awareness. Refed often focuses on data and technology-driven solutions. What were some of the most innovative or promising solutions showcased for tackling the problem of food insecurity and food waste?

[00:12:58.020] They were talking about Okay. The whole conference was talking a lot about how it is important to measure the waste and understand it and by cause to, to be able to address it and find the right solution. And a lot of these businesses are just not tracking it in a right way. And so there was one conference where they talked about this scanner. So basically they would take the waste from schools or businesses or anything. And then there There’s a scanner that looks at all this waste and all the data is stored in their system. And so basically they do the audit for them. And this is for the businesses to understand their waste. And then they take this waste, they put it in an anaerobic digester, for example, and then they turn it into a value-added product that can generate additional revenue. And so I thought that it was a good solution because it provides the tracking the waste part. So the business is more aware of their own waste and why is this happening? And they can create added value from it as well.

[00:14:09.300] So I thought it was cool.

[00:14:10.580] Yeah, interesting.

[00:14:12.080] Yeah, that’s a good point. I think otherwise Some of the companies we talk to, some of them, I think, had very good tracking in terms of within their own operations, like internal data tracking of their losses and even causes of that loss. Especially some of the bigger companies that we spoke to at the conference had very good data on that, and others expressed that it was a challenge and expressed that where there is a lack of data, it’s also difficult to push for implementing solutions. And when it’s only qualitative experience that indicates that there might be some causes of loss and waste, it’s harder to show the ROI of We need to change something. We need to find a better solution. So yeah, that was… I think it show… It doesn’t necessarily respond to that question, but it just shows the importance of data, I think, even within a company. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:15:33.940] And even that might not necessarily… You might not think of data as being like, Oh, wow, this is what’s going to change food waste in the supply chain. But it is step one because you’re so right. Without that, nothing can really happen. Right.

[00:15:48.240] Well, they often speak about Target, measure, act, right? And measure is such an important part of that process.

[00:15:55.820] But I was surprised as how many of the solutions are on the diversion side more than the prevention side of it. So a lot of these were about what to do with this waste once it’s already generated and how to divert it to different channels. But I’m interested to know about, Okay, how can we avoid this waste?

[00:16:22.800] Yeah, I feel like maybe the prevention side of it sometimes is slightly less talked about just because it’s part of your general business efficiencies.

[00:16:38.240] Like grocery stores, for instance, they need their shelves to be fully stocked. Nobody wants to be getting the last apple. It in the grocery store display of apples. So therefore, the grocery store always needs to be having apples that are sitting in a room temp environment and degenerating more quickly. What were the key challenges and opportunities identified for the National Food Bank Network? Do you want to start on it? And then we can just bounce back and forth.

[00:17:07.380] I guess. Rising food insecurity was something that they spoke about a lot. And I think what was really interesting at the Food Banks Canada conference, something that struck me, was just the diversity of challenges that are facing different food banks. And so much of it depends on the size of the food bank and their geographical location. The challenges that are facing food banks in like, northern communities, for example, are so different to like, big, larger urban food banks in, like Moyce en Montréal, for example. Just the kinds of challenges and opportunities are really different. Like food access in the in northern communities is a huge issue. And how to get affordable fresh food up north for vulnerable communities is just such a huge logistical problem.

[00:18:20.160] And then distributing that as well because the communities are so spread out across a large geographical area.

[00:18:28.790] Yeah, 100 %. Compared to maybe in urban areas where they’re well connected, they might even receive a lot of donations from if they’re surrounded by agricultural land as well. But it might be more of a question of, how do we process the donations? How do we transform the donations that we get to be able to better distribute them without it going bad on our hands? That’s something we’ve seen in projects that we’ve worked on even as well.

[00:19:06.000] I think in general, the unpredictable ability of what food banks receive make it so that, I guess one similarity that may Maybe the different regions have is having to just act quickly because the shelf life of food is so short and it’s such… What’s the word? It’s a limiting factor in their ability to distribute food the most efficiently. So, yeah, you’re so right.

[00:19:38.580] Yeah, I guess it’s adapting to different circumstances in different areas.

[00:19:42.000] Yes, exactly. To different actors. Yeah. One thing that they said a few times at the conference was, what did they say? It was, if you had an issue, get a group of people who work at a food bank.

[00:19:54.460] Or what was it that they said? Yeah, if you have a problem, get food bankers to work on it because they’re the most innovative, adaptable thinkers because they have to be. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that’s so true. They said that multiple times.

[00:20:09.300] Some other challenges from the Feed Ontario conference that I noticed, just with talking to a lot of the food banks in that region, and then some at the Food Banks Canada one as well, is storage. Storage is like such an intricate… I feel like I can be saying the word intricate. Storage is such a tedious thing for food banks because, as I was saying, what they get into the food banks is so unpredictable. One week, you could be getting a bunch of fresh vegetables, so you need to clear out as much cooler space as you can to be able to fit these vegetables in there and then move those vegetables out as quickly as possible. And then the next week, you could be getting a few palettes of chips, or no, not chips, that’s a bad example, palettes of granola bars and cereal. And so then you need to create space for that. Space constraints in general are so tricky because some food banks have space for six palettes, and they need to make it work because they have people to feed. And some food banks have room for 50 pallets, but on any given week, they could be getting 20 pallets or they could be getting 100 pallets, and you just have to be able to work within that.

[00:21:25.500] So storage is definitely a challenge just because of those factors.

[00:21:30.900] I think just learning from each other. I think that’s when it came out of the conference. Just sharing learnings and experiences between food banks, I think, can be really fruitful.

[00:21:44.360] And I think opportunities for Food Banks. Someone said it, I forget who, at the Food Banks Canada conference, but it resonated with me. And it reminds me of what we were talking about with landfills and food banks. They were like, You need to be the best person to get that food. So whether it’s you’re working with farms or you’re working with grocery stores, you need to be their number one contact. You need to be the person that they immediately think of whenever they’re like, We have food. It’s still edible. It’s still good to eat. We need to do something with it. They need to have your number, your name on speed dial. You need to be their best friend, basically, so that it’s always going to use. So I think that an opportunity. I’m trying to think of some of the sessions that we went to. We went to the transportation one. We went to the one on sustainability. I think that was actually… They said that in the sustainability session was, You need to be there. And through that, you do get a sustainable source of food. Honestly, yeah, like connections. Oh, that’s an opportunity.

[00:22:52.380] An opportunity for food banks is the connections. It’s so relationship-based, depending on the donations you get. Yeah, it’s so dependent on your relationships with the different actors in the supply chain.

[00:23:10.620] Yeah, definitely.