SaltWire E-Edition

Waste not, want not

FOUND Forgotten Food works to reduce food waste

JOEY FITZPATRICK

As much as 17 per cent of the annual global food production goes to waste, according to a report released earlier this year.

Food is lost or wasted at every single step of the supply chain, from the initial agricultural production, through processing and at the final household consumption.

While the 17 per cent estimate comes from the United Nations’ Food Waste Index Report, it’s difficult to determine exactly how much food goes to waste in Nova Scotia, says Laurel Schut, co-director of FOUND Forgotten Food, an organization committed to reducing food waste in Nova Scotia.

“Measuring food waste is really tricky,” Schut says. “We have rescued more than 35,000 pounds and this would likely be a drop in the bucket.”

FOUND was started in

2016 by Schut and Lindsay Clowes, who met while they were doing graduate research at Dalhousie University. The organization works with farmers, farmers’ markets and urban gardeners to harvest produce that might otherwise be wasted.

With more than 350 active volunteers across the province, FOUND has volunteer groups active in Kings County, Cumberland County and Halifax Regional Municipality. Since its inception, FOUND has been entirely supported by grants, fundraising events and individual donations.

“Since we primarily work with Nova Scotia farmers,

“It’s not just the potato that is wasted when we don’t eat it, but also everything that went into producing that potato.”

Laurel Schut

FOUND Forgotten Food

much of our volunteering is in the Annapolis Valley,” Schut adds. “It’s where the biggest concentration of Nova Scotia farmers can be found.”

FOUND receives directions from the farmers and what to harvest and how and the volunteers meet on the farm to harvest any number of items.

“If it grows in Nova Scotia we have harvested it at some point,” she adds. “For many volunteers it’s their first time seeing food ‘at the source.’ We get a lot of kids with their parents/guardians who do it as a fun activity.”

The top three recipients of FOUND’s efforts are Shelter Nova Scotia, Parker Street Food & Furniture Bank and Feed Nova Scotia.

Food losses represent a waste of resources used in production, including land, water, energy and other inputs, all of which have negative environmental causes.

“It’s not just the potato that is wasted when we don’t eat it, but also everything that went into producing that potato.”

Schut’s interest in food systems led her to complete an undergraduate degree focused on food security in international development and a graduate degree focused on pollination in agricultural production. Clowes’ passion for local food and food insecurity began while she worked on local farms in the Annapolis Valley while attending Acadia University. She gained her masters in environmental studies with research focused on agricultural policy.

The goal of FOUND is to not only reduce food waste, but to raise awareness of the issue, Schut added.

“In an ideal world FOUND wouldn’t need to exist because food loss and waste would be reduced at the source and there wouldn’t be a demand for community resources like food banks because all Nova Scotians would be fed,” she says. “In the meantime, we see our work as an important way to make the world a better place.”

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2021-07-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

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