—Rescue Food
Rescue Food makes sure surplus good food keeps moving to people who need it. The program empowers volunteers to connect food donors with service agencies distributing food to vulnerable members of our communities.
Here at Leftovers, rescuing food is what we do! The Rescue Food program uses a dedicated app to mobilize and organize volunteers, connecting vendors with excess good food to service agencies in need of food donations for clients experiencing crisis hunger. This program operates in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hinton, and Airdrie, and will be launching in Red Deer and Lethbridge in summer 2023.
1,068,004 lbs redirected in 2022
864,405 lbs of CO₂ equivalents diverted
9,366 routes were completed
Rescue Food Calgary
The longest-running of our Rescue Food programs, Rescue Food Calgary began with Lourdes Juan’s first trip from a Calgary bakery to a drop-in centre in 2012. Since then, the program has grown exponentially, from rescuing food at the Calgary Stampede in 2017 to redirecting over 200,000 lbs of food during the first months of pandemic lockdowns in 2020.
Rescue Food YYC also facilitates large-scale donations, with pallets of donated food broken down and distributed from our warehouse, often to service agencies still on the waitlist for regular deliveries through the app.
194,952 lbs redirected in 2022
109,173 lbs of CO₂ equivalents diverted in 2022
2,733 routes were completed in 2022
For more information about Rescue Food Calgary, please contact our Calgary City Coordinator, Liz Dill, [email protected].
Rescue Food Edmonton
In 2017, the Rescue Food program expanded to Edmonton, and since then, the program has grown to equal Calgary in volume. In 2021, our WastED Webinar presented different perspectives on food rescue, waste reduction, and the need for food access programming in Edmonton. (Check out some of those episodes here!)
Rescue Food Edmonton runs without a home base, meaning that all of the food we redistribute in Edmonton is done by volunteer drivers (or cyclists or walkers!) through the app. Look for us tabling at events throughout the city!
250,913 lbs redirected in 2022
348,769 lbs of CO₂ equivalents diverted in 2022
2,829 routes were completed in 2022
For more information about Rescue Food Edmonton, please contact our Edmonton City Coordinator, Alex Wong, [email protected].
Rescue Food Winnipeg
Rescue Food Winnipeg launched in November 2020 and quickly became our highest volume Rescue Food program. Working closely with Red River Co-op, Rescue Food Winnipeg redirects, on average, more than 40,000 lbs of food per month! Much of that food comes through the Winnipeg warehouse, where dedicated volunteers break down large-scale donations for distribution to service agencies who can use the food to feed vulnerable Winnipeggers.
Look for us tabling at the St. Norbert Farmers Market this summer!
539,123 lbs redirected
in 2022
301,909 lbs of CO₂ equivalents diverted in 2022
3,174 routes were completed in 2022
For more information about Rescue Food Winnipeg, please contact our Winnipeg City Coordinator, Alyssa Wolfe, [email protected].
Rescue Food Lethbridge
We are active in Lethbridge! Find us tabling around the city this summer.
For more information about Rescue Food Lethbridge, please contact our Lethbridge City Coordinator, Apollo Lelond, [email protected].
Rescue Food Red Deer
We are active in Red Deer! Find us tabling around the city this summer.
For more information about Rescue Food Red Deer, please contact our Red Deer City Coordinator, Beverley Beckley, [email protected].
As a volunteer, you choose what routes work best for you. Download our app to start rescuing and delivering food.
Want to donate food or receive food? Read about how food donors and service agencies can get involved.
