Feed your animals,
for free
Get regular, reliable donations of surplus food from local grocery stores for your animals
What you'll receive
We work with various grocery departments to provide a wide range of surplus food for your farm. While donations vary by store, your pickup may include items such as:
Produce
Baked goods
Dairy
Where the food comes from
Working with local food businesses, we divert all their surplus food from landfills. What can't be donated for human consumption makes perfect, affordable feed for your livestock and farm animals.
Why join?
Steady supply
Get regular, reliable donations of perishable food suitable for your animals.
No cost
The food you receive is completely free, reducing your feed expenses.
One location
Collect your supply from a single central pickup point in your area.
Share surplus
Pass along what you don't need to another farmer in the network.
Questions
Get answers about pickup schedules, food types, and program requirements.
No. The food donations are completely free.
We ask farmers to commit to at least one pickup per week. Depending on how many farmers are in your area, we may be able to schedule additional pickups if you need them.
We'll contact you for pickups only in your area. Once we match you with a donor, we'll send over an email with everything you need, including the pickup location and your scheduled pickup window.
The amount of food you will receive varies by location, including daily and seasonal fluctuations. Volumes of farm feed donation often range from 50kg to 200kg per pickup.
The majority of the feed will be fresh produce along with some bread and dairy. Depending on the program in your area, there may also be meat donated for dogs and cats. There will be some food you receive that may be past the consumption period for your animals, and best for compost.
This varies by pickup location. While most donations come in boxes or bags, we recommend transferring the food into your own containers to prevent leaks and torn bags. If a specific site requires you to provide all your own containers, we’ll notify you before your first run.
Yes. Each participating charity hub and grocery store on the program is qualified and trained in food safety procedures. That means maintaining cold chain, and sorting the food as best as possible. Meat products (salad with bacon bits, etc.) are separated out to avoid contamination.
There will be some depackaging involved. Produce comes from the grocery stores in its store packaging, so there may be some plastic punnets, metal twist ties and elastic bands around some of the produce. Produce such as apples and tomatoes may still have stickers on them. It is the farmer’s responsibility to check all food for packaging before giving the food to their animals.
It is your responsibility to arrange for someone else to pick up on your behalf. If you are unable to find anyone, it is essential that you provide FoodMesh with as much notice as possible so we can find coverage for you.
Farmers who have missed two pickups without notification may lose their guaranteed day and be replaced by another farmer on the waitlist.
We're expanding across Canada regularly. Join the network now and we'll contact you once we establish programs in your region.
Still have questions?
Our team is happy to help.
Start receiving surplus donations
Join the Food Surplus Network, and we'll connect you with available food.