Canada's Food Waste Reduction Challenge

Reducing food waste can help increase food availability, save consumers and business money, strengthen our food systems, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• 1/3 of all food produced globally goes to waste each year
• 8% of global emissions are caused by food loss and waste
• 1/4 of all water used by the agriculture sector around the world

If global food waste were a country, it would be the third largest GHG emitting country in the world

• Over half, 35.5 million tonnes, of Canada's food supply is lost or wasted annually.
• And an estimated $49.5 billion of food waste in Canada is entirely avoidable

Reducing Food Waste from Farm to Plate

To support high-impact solutions to food waste, the Government of Canada has launched the $20M Food Waste Reduction Challenge under the Food Policy for Canada.

Challenges provide monetary prizes to whoever can most effectively solve a defined challenge or problem.

• The Food Waste Reduction Challenge has four streams. Streams A and B are now accepting applications for Business Model Solutions that Prevent or Divert Food Waste.
• Streams C and D will launch in Spring 2021 and will focus on Advancing Technologies that Extend the Life of Food or Transform Food Waste.

Proposed solutions should be:

• Innovative
• High-Impact
• Transformative