Saskatoon study finds 'practical' ways to reduce food waste

Food is shown in a grocery store in southern Alberta.

A University of Saskatchewan researcher wants to see the creation of a food recovery association and the establishment of a social enterprise — a business focused on social change — to upcycle or transform surplus food for other uses.

The recommendation is from a new joint study by the University of Saskatchewan and the City of Saskatoon, Promising Practices in Food Reclamation in Saskatoon, which found ways to minimize the food being discarded.

“We tried to make it very practical,” lead researcher Rachel Engler-Stringer, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at the College of Medicine, said in a news release.

“I hope that a number of our recommendations will be taken up and there will be significant change in Saskatoon.”

Other recommendations include a public awareness campaign, the use of phone food diversion apps, and the inclusion of food diversion in city planning processes.

Farhad Lashgarara, who was a principal researcher for the study, said it is necessary to both create ways to divert food from landfills and provide disincentives for simply discarding it.

“It is now easier to just throw things away,” he said. “We need to change that equation.”

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The report was presented to the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services on Monday.

The city is looking toward the next steps to act on their recommendations,” Jeanna South, director of sustainability for the City of Saskatoon, said in the release.

“The upcoming regulation for businesses to start diverting the food waste they generate in 2023 presents an opportunity to encourage reduction and redistribution of food that otherwise would become waste, thus saving disposal costs while benefiting our community and environment.”