Transportation is biggest cost in redistributing food. Ottawa-About 35.5 million tonnes of food grown in Canada annually never make it to a dinner table and that waste adds to the country's greenhouse gas emissions, says Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest. That waste amounts to 58 per cent of the food produced in Canada even though 5.6 million Canadian are considered to be food insecure, she told the Commons agriculture committee. Second Harvest is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to environmental protection and hunger relief. “Addressing food waste is a critical part of the issue of food insecurity. Taking action to support food waste reduction and diversion initiatives can reduce supply issues, mitigate transportation challenges, reduce CO2 emissions, lessen our reliance on imports and redistribute millions of tonnes of edible food to families and communities in need.” Nikel called on the MPs who are studying global food insecurity to support the revival of the surplus food rescue program, launched in July 2020. The program was introduced in July 2020 and enabled Second Harvest to purchase more than nine million pounds of surplus food including eggs, chicken, salmon and fresh produce that was distributed to more than 350 communities across Canada. “The surplus food rescue program was an example of government leadership and action that had a real impact on the lives of countless Canadians, including our producers.” The program was discontinued even though it is needed now more than ever, she said. As well, there should be a tax credit to incentivize Canadian businesses to reduce their food waste and provide surplus food to organizations that can redistribute it, she said. She estimates there are more than 100,000 businesses that could be eligible for the tax credit. “It is time for us to face the uncomfortable truth that Canada has a food waste crisis.” Reviving the surplus program as Canada heads into a recession is important as the country heads into an economic recession. “It is a really critical program that supports producers. It supports Canadians. It supports the environment. It's a triple win. I don't know why we're not going to do this.” “There's a whole invisible network that needs this food, spaces like mental health places or senior centres or schools. We really think it's critical to get that food to them. It's healthy. If we don't get them the healthy food, we have terrible educational outcomes—the research is done—and terrible health outcomes.” Most of the cost Second Harvest faces is for transportation. “The food is out there,” Nikel said. “The latest research we did showed that only 4 per cent of businesses that have surplus food were donating it. It's a great opportunity—it's not a negative—but moving that food across the country, and as far north as you can go, comes at considerable cost when we have supply chain issues already.”