Loblaw unveils new food donation efforts

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. has pledged to provide 1 billion pounds of food to Canadians in need by 2028 through its newly created Feed More Families initiative, reflecting an effort to address food insecurity and the environmental impacts of food waste.

The pledge builds on the company’s overall efforts to advance social equity and fight climate change, said Galen Weston, president and chairman, of Loblaw, which is Canada’s largest retailer.

“The commitment to 1 billion pounds will require contributions from across our store network and will help strengthen the capabilities of food charities at a local level,” he said.

The donation of 1 billion pounds of food translates into about 1 billion meals, the company said.

Feed More Families activities will include regular awareness and fundraising campaigns for food banks and food recovery agencies, the company said. Loblaw will also seek to pair all of its food stores with a local food charity that can use food donations before they goes to waste.

Food insecurity is up 35% since 2019, Loblaw said, cited research from Food Banks Canada. In addition, 6.7 million Canadians use non-profit food services annually, according to Second Harvest.

Meanwhile Second Harvest also found that food loss and waste represents nearly 60% of the food industry’s environmental footprint in Canada.

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To kick off the Feed More Families pledge, Loblaw provided five grants totaling C$200,000 (about US$147,00) to food banks across Canada to increase their capacity to reclaim food.

On Giving Tuesday (Nov. 29), the company provided its food charity partners the opportunity to “take over” its PC Optimum loyalty-card platform with a fundraising appeal, through which customers donated more than US$18,400 and more than 37 million PC Optimum points to Food Banks Canada and Second Harvest. Loblaw also donated about US$129,000 to each of the two organizations.

Loblaw’s grocery stores are currently in the midst of their annual nationwide food drive in support of local food banks, which runs until Dec. 24.

In Loblaw’s 2021 ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Report, issued in May of this year, the company said it was committed to sending zero food waste to landfills by 2030, and to achieve measurable food waste reductions in every store during the following 24 months.

It also stated its pledge to help feed 1 million children annually by 2025 through supports for its President’s Choice Children’s Charity, named after its popular private label.