Should Grocery Stores in Canada be Asked or Required to Donate Unsold Food?

Opinion : Yes — and many already do, because it reduces waste, supports communities, and is logistically feasible.

🍎 1. Food Banks Already Rely on Grocery Store Donations

Canadian grocery stores routinely donate food that’s safe but close to its sell‑by date.

Daily Bread Food Bank, for example, picks up pallets of meat, bread, and deli items directly from Metro stores in Toronto.

This is already a structured, routine system.

♻️ 2. Most Major Chains Are Actively Participating

Loblaw — Canada’s largest grocery retailer — reports that 100% of its eligible stores now participate in food recovery programs, donating millions of pounds of food annually.

This shows the infrastructure exists and works at scale.

📦 3. Canada Has Tech + Logistics to Make It Easy

Organizations like Second Harvest run a national food‑rescue network and even offer an app that lets stores post surplus food in real time for nonprofits to claim.

This removes the “it’s too complicated” excuse.

🥫 4. Grocers Already Sort Food for Donation vs. Disposal

Stores inspect items nearing the end of their shelf life and sort them for food banks.

This means the process is already built into daily operations.

So should they be  asked or required to donate food that is unsold, past best before date and leftover food ?

Yes — because the systems, partners, and logistics already exist, and the social impact is huge.  

Donating leftover food:

• reduces waste

• supports food‑insecure Canadians

• improves sustainability

• costs stores very little or nothing because we are referring to unsold food

• is already proven to work in thousands of locations

Canada’s biggest retailers are already doing it — the question now is how to expand and standardize it across the entire industry.