Minister MacAulay announces Food Waste Reduction Challenge winners

OTTAWA, ON, March 20, 2024 /CNW/ – From farm to plate, through production, processing, distribution, retail, food service and at home, over half of Canada’s annual food supply is reportedly wasted or lost. To build a more sustainable future, it is critical to tackle food waste. Today, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced the two grand prize winners of the Business Models Streams for the Food Waste Reduction Challenge, LOOP Mission and Still Good.

The Challenge, launched in November 2020, supports high-impact solutions to food waste in Canada. The Business Models Streams focus on business model solutions that can prevent or divert food waste at any point in the food chain, from farm to plate.

LOOP Mission is a Montreal-based circular economy company that creates products from food that would otherwise go to waste, like cold-pressed juice. The company leveraged its expertise to create LOOP Synergies—a line of ingredients made from rejected food, that would otherwise be wasted, that food processors can easily integrate into diverse food products. With support from the Challenge, LOOP Mission will scale its LOOP Synergies line, enabling more food processors to join the movement to reduce food waste in Canada. 

Based in Montreal, Still Good develops business solutions for companies to transform nutrient-rich by-products that would otherwise go to waste to new food products, through a holistic approach called eco-valuation. For example, Still Good developed technology to turn spent brewers’ grain from local microbreweries into flour which is high in protein, fibre and essential minerals. With support from the Challenge, Still Good will scale its business model to create eco-valuation or upcycling hubs across Canada. This will allow food processors to build on and replicate this solution to reduce food waste.

LOOP Mission and Still Good will each receive a grand prize of up to $1.5 million to grow and scale their leading-edge food waste solutions.

By encouraging more solutions to food waste, we can increase food availability, save Canadians and businesses money, and strengthen our food systems, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Government will continue to support innovation in this area, to ensure that more of the high-quality products produced by our farmers and food processors reach Canadians.

“Through important initiatives like the Food Waste Reduction Challenge, we’re working to find effective solutions to reduce food waste on a large scale, so more of the top-quality food our farmers produce doesn’t go to waste and ends up where it belongs – on the kitchen tables of Canadian families. Congratulations to LOOP Mission and Still Good for your work to develop cutting-edge solutions to help tackle food waste in Canada.”
–        The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

“LOOP Mission is well aware of the scale of food waste in Canada, which is why we have created a collaborative movement to mobilize the food industry in support of food waste reduction. Thanks to this award, we will be able to intensify our efforts and continue to innovate by developing revalorized ingredients that can be adapted to meet the needs of the industry. We are honoured by this recognition and look forward to multiplying our impact.”
–        Julie Poitras-Saulnier, Co-Founder and CEO, LOOP Mission

“Thank you to AAFC and the members of the external review committee for recognizing the qualities of our business model and salute the work of all the finalists. This recognition will certainly enable us to promote the countless opportunities available to catalyze the creation of innovative projects aimed at transforming food residues, helping companies achieve their ESG objectives, and consolidating our research and development efforts.”
–        Jonathan Rodrigue, Co-Founder and CEO, Still Good

According to Second Harvest and Value Chain Management International, 58% of Canada’s annual food supply is reportedly wasted or lost.The first round of the Food Waste Reduction Challenge attracted 343 applications from innovators across Canada and around the world, which led to 24 semi-finalists, and ultimately 10 finalists chosen across Canada who brought forward food waste reducing solutions.An External Review Committee, composed of subject matter experts from a diverse range of backgrounds, played an important role in reviewing solutions and recommending winners at each stage of the Challenge.The Food Waste Reduction Challenge is part of the first-ever Food Policy for Canada, which serves as a roadmap for a healthier and more sustainable food system in Canada. It is a vision that all people should be able to access the healthy food they need in a dignified manner.Entries under the Food Waste Reduction Challenge’s Business Models Streams were evaluated against established criteria, including potential volume of food waste reduction, level of innovation and scalability as well as environmental, social and economic benefits.Under the Food Waste Reduction Challenge’s Novel Technologies Streams, 12 finalists were selected in January 2023. Each finalist received $400,000 and moved on to accelerate and scale up the commercialization of their solution over the last 12 months. Two grand prize winners will be announced in Spring 2024.To learn more about the Business Models Streams and to view the Business Models Streams’ Finalist Videos, visit the Food Waste Reduction Challenge website.Rising inflation and increasing food prices are challenging for many Canadians, and the Government of Canada is working to make life more affordable. We recognize that food affordability is a sensitive issue as food security concerns have been on the rise, putting pressure on household finances and making it more difficult for many families to afford healthy and nutritious food.That is why the Government of Canada is continuously working to strengthen Canada’s food systems to ensure sustainable food production and processing.

Food Policy for CanadaFood Waste Reduction Challenge: Business Models

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