At the heart of every successful sustainability initiative are the people who make it happen every single day. Recently, our field staff has been out visiting stores that we work with to redistribute their surplus food, and they came back with incredible stories of dedication, quick thinking, and pure passion for food recovery.

While we couldn't sit down with everyone for a formal interview, our field staff’s notes say it all. Here is a massive shoutout to the Food Recovery Champions who are going above and beyond to ensure good food reaches people and local farms instead of landfills!

Dan (Produce) – Save-On-Foods Willoughby


Dan is deeply passionate about making sure edible food goes to feed people first. He’s known for stepping up and advocating for food recovery whenever he sees perfectly good food accidentally heading elsewhere.

  • Champion move: When a question came up about what to do with berry clamshells if just one berry was moldy, Dan coordinated on the spot with the store’s charity partner to ensure the rest of the edible fruit gets saved and donated.

Nadine (Receiver) – Save-On-Foods Langley Downtown


Nadine is a strong advocate for food recovery and keeps a sharp eye on the backroom to ensure nothing wasteful slips through the cracks.

  • Champion move: When she caught a team member accidentally tossing edible meat into the compactor, Nadine stepped right in, corrected the course, and got those items redirected to donations. She is not afraid to speak and goes above and beyond to ensure the program runs as efficiently as possible.

Nick (Produce Manager) & David (Receiver) – Save-On-Foods Newton


A dynamic duo! Nick and David have the store’s donation rhythm dialed in perfectly.

  • Champion move: Nick noticed that some local farmers were dropping off the pickup schedule due to low volume. Taking swift action, he strategically rerouted Wednesday and Thursday shrink entirely to the farmers to give them a reliable, high-volume pickup that keeps them in the program. Meanwhile, David brings the perfect attitude—he isn't afraid to speak up and nudge other departments if sorting isn't being done quite right.

Robin (Receiver) – Fresh St. Market Panorama


Robin’s easygoing nature and great attitude make him a favorite for our charity partners to work with. He keeps operations running smoothly and seamlessly.

  • Champion move: Because of the excellent relationship Robin has built, one of our local charity heads even gave Robin their personal phone number, offering to do emergency "second runs" whenever the store has an unexpected overflow of donations.

Ben (Operations Manager) – Save-On-Foods Ladner


Ben proves that great management drives great sustainability. When our field team brought up operational hurdles regarding department space and sorting errors, Ben didn't just listen—he took immediate action.

  • Champion move: Ben took detailed notes on bakery space limitations and produce/deli sorting to personally champion these fixes at the store's department head meetings, ensuring food recovery is woven right into daily store operations.

The whole team at Save-On-Foods Main Street


"I get a great vibe every time I come to this store. Staff are friendly and supportive... I would have handed out program champion pins to everyone." – Field Staff Notes

We couldn’t pick just one person at Main St., because the whole store is a champion team. A massive thank you to Mike (Store Manager), Gojko (Assistant Store Manager), Jeff (Reciever), Kavya & Hamandeep (Bakery), Rapinder (Deli), MD (Meat), and Pierce (Produce). Your incredible culture and joint effort make food recovery look easy!

A note from the field...

Our field team put it best: the character these champions show—the willingness to speak up, protect food, and support our communities—is something “born with, not taught.” Thank you to all our store teams for turning food waste into food security. Keep up the phenomenal work!

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