Vancouver-based Food Mesh says it has diverted 42 million kilograms of food from landfills to dinner tables since 2017.
“We’re a social-impact business, and we exist to help reduce food waste and to feed more people,” said Jessica Regan founder and CEO of Food Mesh. “It’s like a dual mission.”
Food Mesh connects surplus food from grocery stores and wholesalers to not-for-profits across Canada.
The company rescues about one million meals monthly and distributes about 12 million annually.
Regan said grocers and wholesalers benefit economically, environmentally and socially by saving the cost of hauling away edible food; reducing greenhouse gases emissions caused by food waste; and, assisting charities.
Food Mesh arranges to get food, mostly through donation, to food banks and other charitable groups while selling some to upcyclers. Upcyclers include resellers who buy premium food not available for donation for pennies on the dollar and resell it to groups, including some non-profit organizations, that have purchasing power. Other upcyclers convert inedible products into edible items. For example, orange and other citrus-fruit peels are used to make candy products and spent grains from breweries become cookie dough.
“On the donation side, we work with hundreds of food banks and food-rescue agencies across many provinces,” said Regan.
Food Mesh also donates inedible products to a network of about 800 farmers, who use it for animal feed.
The organization charges management fees to grocery stores, revenue- shares with charities, and runs consumer-education campaigns like Love Food, Hate Waste to reduce household food waste. Food Mesh programs also emphasize the importance of proper food handling and traceability
“We try to do up to 100% diversion and get rid of everything going to landfill, and rescue everything and find other outlets,” said Regan.
Food Mesh began by working with governments on the ongoing creation of regional networks and then branched out. The company builds small client networks around every grocery store that it works with.
“What we do is, we’re an ecosystem connector,” said Regan.
Essentially, Food Mesh is a matchmaker for surplus food. Food Mesh then maps where businesses can send their unsold items.
Recipient charities sign liability waivers; suppliers agree to maintain safety protocols and adhere to FoodSafe guidelines. FoodSafe is a B.C. provincial program recognized and deployed across Canada.
All Food Mesh services are technology-based. The firm does not ship items, leaving that responsibility to grocers, food banks and other organizations.
“We are like an online co-ordinator,” said Regan. “We manage [the system] to make sure that everyone’s doing their part.”