Vancouver Food Runners is a Canadian registered charity founded in 2019 as a direct response to the disconnect between food waste, food insecurity, and environmental sustainability. Vancouver Food Runners matches surplus food from businesses and organizations to nonprofit partners working with food insecure clients in the Vancouver area. Our volunteer drivers - or Food Rescue Heroes! – transport the food from donors to nonprofit partners with the help of our innovative Vancouver Food Runners app (powered by Food Rescue Hero technology).

According to a recent Second Harvest report, The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste, a staggering 58% of all food produced in Canada (35.5 million metric tonnes) is lost and wasted annually, and it is estimated that 32% (11.2 million metric tonnes) of this lost and wasted food is avoidable, meaning it could be redirected and used to support communities. According to the United Nations, if we recovered all the food that is lost or wasted, we would have enough to feed all who are hungry four times over. Sadly, much of this food ends up in the landfill where it produces methane instead – a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Our food recovery program is a direct response to this pressing challenging.

Vancouver Food Runners partners with local food businesses and retailers (e.g., restaurants, bakeries, caterers, grocery stores, wholesalers, farmers’ markets) by rescuing their surplus food and transporting it directly to nonprofit and community-based organizations (e.g., food hubs, neighbourhood houses, shelters, supportive housing) where the food is then provided to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. Our volunteers, also known as Food Rescue Heroes, are at the core of Vancouver Food Runners’ success.

VFR’s (amazing) volunteers provide the last-mile transportation for surplus food donations. With the Vancouver Food Runners app, you can volunteer as much or as little as you’d like. You can claim a weekly rescue that allows you to volunteer every week (same time, same place!); or you can claim a one-time rescue that works with your schedule. To learn more about volunteering and to download the Vancouver Food Runners app, visit our Volunteer page If you have additional questions, please email kelsey@vancouverfoodrunners.com.

You can download the free and easy-to-use Vancouver Food Runners app through the Apple Store and Google Play. Once you download the app, you can instantly see food rescues available in your area. To learn more about a particular rescue, click on a rescue icon on the map and then click “view rescue.” You will see the food rescue start time, which is always given as a 30-minute window of time to pick-up the food donation; and then you can swipe the small grey arrow upwards to learn more about the rescue, including details such as food donor and community partner locations, the type and amount of food being rescued, and whether you need a large vehicle for the rescue and if bringing your own containers is required. If you’re interested in doing the food rescue, claim it!

For more information, please watch this 2-minute app-tutorial

At this time, we do not provide food directly to individuals or families. Our surplus food donations go to nonprofit organizations working with food-insecure populations. If you are an individual or family in need of food, please check out the Vancouver Food Asset Map for a list of resources in your area. If you are a nonprofit that wants to receive surplus food, visit our Receive Food Page

Due to food safety requirements, Vancouver Food Runners cannot accept food produced by an individual nor can we provide food directly to individuals. All food donations must be produced in a commercial, FoodSafe certified kitchen. In addition, food cannot have been set out (i.e., on a buffet) or unwrapped/uncovered. If you are a licensed food business and have surplus food, please call us at 236-471-4728 or visit Donate Food. Once we determine if we can accept your donation, we will quickly onboard your business, match the donation to an appropriate community partner and send a volunteer to collect your donation.

Vancouver Food Runners does not bank food. Rather, we complement the work done by food banks, food hubs and other hunger relief organizations. We rapidly and directly transfer surplus food from businesses to recipient organizations. Given our one-to-one donor to recipient match, we are able to transport perishable foods, such as produce, dairy, protein, and prepared meals – food that is high in nutrients and much-needed by those experiencing food insecurity. By meeting folks where they live, work and learn, we can ensure this food is being used quickly.

Before food donations are matched to a nonprofit partner, we vet recipient organizations and onboard them into our system. When a food donation becomes available, we make personal contact with our “point person” at the receiving organization to ensure that we are not only delivering food that people want, but also in quantities they can receive.

VFR works with 170+ businesses donating food and 145+ nonprofit organizations. As we continue to grow, we are scaling rapidly in Metro Vancouver to meet the demand from both food businesses and nonprofits. In 2023, our program expanded by 51% to provide 1.26 million pounds of food (1 million equivalent meal); and we now deliver surplus food to nonprofits in Vancouver, Burnaby, Delta, the North Shore, and Surrey.