Lori Nikkel
VFR: Lori, tell us about yourself and your path to becoming the CEO of Second Harvest.
Lori Nikkel: I was a low-income single parent who struggled to feed my own children when I was asked to launch a child nutrition program at my son’s school, feeding over 300 students every school day with healthy food.
It felt like starting a small business. I had to quickly learn how to fundraise, train volunteers, shop on a tight budget, develop healthy meal menus that the children would actually eat, and understand food safety rules. That was the start of a food systems journey that got me to Second Harvest.
VFR: On a personal level, what keeps you motivated on this journey towards preventing food waste.
LN: The climate crisis and the absurdity of throwing perfectly good food away, while so many people struggle to access healthy food for themselves and their families.
VFR: Please share more about Second Harvest and the impact you’ve had across Canada, including how organizations like VFR collaborate with Second Harvest through your app.
LN: Based in Ontario, Second Harvest is Canada’s largest food rescue organization. We rescue unsold surplus food from businesses across the supply chain and redistribute it to nonprofits in every province and territory. We do this in a variety of ways, including through our fleet and warehouse in Toronto, coordinating third-party logistics across the rest of the country, and via the Second Harvest Food Rescue
This app allows food businesses to post real-time donations, which can then be claimed and picked up by local nonprofits (including Vancouver Food Runners!). In doing so, we help prevent harmful greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere and improve access to nutrition for millions of Canadians experiencing food insecurity.
In 2024 alone, we worked with 8,800 food donors to rescue and redistribute 87.1 million pounds of surplus food to our network of over 5,000 nonprofits, including 694 partners in British Columbia, reaching 112 communities across the province.
Partners, like VFR, are vital to our mission. Since 2021, VFR has rescued more than 320,340 pounds of surplus food through our food rescue app, preventing an estimated 983,597 pounds of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.
Beyond food rescue and redistribution, Second Harvest is also involved in advocacy, research, training, and education.
Our research provides critical data and insights to inform public policy and educate the public on sustainable food systems.
VFR: Second Harvest recently released, “The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste: Update,” a follow-up to your groundbreaking research published in 2019 that quantified food waste in Canada by examining the entire value chain. Tell us about some of the key findings and if any of the data surprised you.
LN: The research reveals striking data about food waste in Canada and underscores the critical need for action. We continue to waste nearly half of the food produced for us, with 41% (8.83 million tonnes) being avoidable.
The value of this avoidable food waste is a staggering $58 billion. At a time when the affordability crisis makes nutrition out of reach for far too many families, this is unacceptable!
Food waste also has a devastating impact on the environment. As food rots in landfills, it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
From our research, we know that avoidable food waste contributes about 25.7 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions annually — that’s equivalent to 253,000 flights from Toronto to Vancouver!
VFR: Food waste is basically bad for business. Can you explain how it negatively impacts both businesses and consumers.
LN: Food waste costs both businesses and consumers in significant ways. For businesses, it means a loss of revenue and investment, from raw materials to labour and transportation. Waste disposal adds further operational costs.
For consumers, the price of wasted food is factored into what we pay at the store, driving up the cost of our meals. On top of that, managing this waste adds to municipal taxes, further burdening households.
Additionally, when we waste food, we also waste precious resources that go into making it, such as land and water.
In fact, the water waste associated with avoidable food waste is equivalent to the amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls for over 53 days! This increases costs for everyone, making it harder for both businesses and consumers to operate sustainably and affordably in the long-term.
VFR: Let’s dig into why food waste is still happening. The Update shines a light on three big issues: grading regulations and specifications, best before dates, and climate change. Please explain how each is contributing to significant food waste.
LN: One of the most frustrating drivers of food waste is "best before" dates, which refer to food quality, not food safety. Yet millions of Canadians throw away food once that date passes. Best before dates lead to perfectly good food being wasted across the supply chain, contributing to 23% of all avoidable food waste, from processing to purchase. This results in $13.43 billion in wasted food each year.
Grading regulations and specifications set by both government and industry also cause food to be wasted needlessly because it doesn’t meet visual or grading standards like texture, colour, size, or condition. Retailers often go beyond these regulations to offer picture-perfect products that consumers associate with premium quality — resulting in the rejection of produce that contains the same nutrients as their perfect looking counterparts.
Weather and climate change are impacting the quality, predictability, and shelf life of food. This results in foods that do not meet retailer and consumer expectations. Weather can also cause waste by leading to transportation delays, and extreme weather events can completely ruin crops.
VFR: Given the magnitude of the food waste problem, what are the biggest levers to create positive change on the issue and help businesses prevent food waste within their operations?
LN: The business case for reducing food waste is clear: For every 1% reduction in food waste, businesses can increase their revenue by 4%.
This is because addressing food waste helps eliminate the hidden costs associated with spoilage, handling, storage, and disposal, ultimately reducing a business’s overall operating costs.
Businesses can start by standardizing date coding formats and considering the removal of best before dates on products with a shelf life of 90 days or more.
They can also educate consumers on the true meaning of best before dates to avoid misunderstandings and confusion between best before dates and expiration dates, which often lead to perfectly good food being wasted.
Setting measurable targets and tracking progress is another critical step. When businesses establish clear goals for reducing food waste and periodically measure their outcomes, it holds them accountable and highlights areas for improvement. What gets measured gets managed.
Finally, from an environmental perspective, the best use of surplus food is to donate it to nonprofits. It is not only socially responsible, but can also cut food-related greenhouse gases 12 times more effectively than composting and 30 times more effectively than upcycling.
VFR: A lot of food waste is still happening at the household level. What are some small and easy changes people can make to reduce their own food waste?
Lori’s Tips
Start by only buying what you need. Before heading to the store, check your fridge and cupboards, then make a list to help you stick to essentials.
If possible, shop more often and buy smaller quantities to ensure you’re using everything before it spoils.
Proper storage can also make a difference: Learn how to keep your food fresher for longer and freeze items like bread or ripe fruits to extend their life.
Understanding best before dates is also key. These dates indicate peak quality, not safety, so use your senses, take a sniff test before deciding to throw something out. A waste audit is a powerful visual reminder.
Use a clear container to store your organic food waste for a week, keeping it visible. Then, at the end of the week, calculate how much food you’ve thrown away and how much money that represents. It’s an eye-opening exercise that can inspire long-lasting habits.
Read the full Avoidable Food Waste Update (HERE)
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