A safe, secure way to donate excess food

Peace-of-mind is now just a click away. FoodRescue.ca is a game-changer that offers any food business the ability to donate any type and amount of food directly to approved charities and non-profit organizations, in any community in Ontario.

Second Harvest knows the importance of making it easy for businesses to donate unsold, surplus food. As Canada’s largest food rescue charity, they understand how critical it is for any give-back effort to be streamlined and efficient. That’s why they built FoodRescue.ca, a new online tool that makes donating food a whole lot smarter.

Changing the way we think about donating food

In Canada, we waste 15 billion pounds of food each year, which ends up in landfills. Typically, it’s been labour intensive to find a trusted community partner to recover any surplus. Second Harvest has worked with food businesses and social service providers for over 33 years to reduce waste. They have applied this experience to FoodRescue.ca to take the leg-work out of the donation process, giving more businesses the confidence that donating food is safe, secure, quick, and fun in under five minutes!

Donate with a clear conscience

Ontario’s Donation of Food Act, introduced in 1994, removes liability when donating food in good faith. FoodRescue.ca dispels any uncertainty by offering any unsold, edible product only to registered charities and legitimate not-for-profit organizations that have appropriate health premise regulations and safe food handling certifications. Dean Cruickshanks, owner of Dean’s No Frills in Beamsville commented, “The website is very user-friendly, the process is easy to administer and another great way to #FeedEveryone.”

Let someone else do the heavy lifting

The FoodRescue.ca website can be accessed by desktop or Smartphone:

• Retailers (or any food businesses) sign up online to be a Food Donor


• Donations can be made at any time with any amount of perishable or shelf-stable product


• Matchmaking occurs and notices are sent to appropriate local organizations


• Donors receive an email or text message when an organization agrees to rescue the donation


• A Rescuer picks up at the time and location the Food Donor designated

Other features include the ability to set up recurring donations with a one-step process to schedule regular rescues. For businesses that have more than one outlet, multiple locations can be added to the system, as well as multiple users, such as various departments or receiving staff.

Time to stop wasting and start sharing

We all know it’s a shame to throw out good, edible food, not to mention the resulting environmental impact--food that ends up in landfills releases a vast, unnecessary amount of greenhouse gas. So when a process comes along that offers an easy, more secure method of recovery, it makes sense to help out the neighbourhood.

If your business has any type of surplus, which someone in your community could consume, FoodRescue.ca offers a simple way to reduce your environmental impact, save money on tipping fees, and provide greater access to fresh food to keep your community healthy and strong.