The Richmond Food Recovery Network

The City of Richmond is leading the way to tackle food waste in Metro Vancouver

About the Network

In partnership with FoodMesh, the City of Richmond is building a Food Recovery Network of Richmond-based food businesses, charities and farmers to connect those with surplus food, kitchen equipment and packaging, with those who can use it.
Read the media release HERE
As a member of the network, depending on your needs, you may participate in one or both of the following FoodMesh programs:

The FoodMesh Marketplace

Open to any food business, charity or farmer, it's an online platform on which you can buy, sell, donate, or claim donated unsold surplus food, kitchen equipment and packaging.
It's free to join the Marketplace.
Learn More!

The Retail Food Recovery Program

Food retailers can sign up to have all of their surplus/unsold food collected, so they don’t have to waste any of it.
A charity takes the food, is responsible for sorting and distributing it to other charities for meals, and/or to farmers for animal feed or compost
Learn More

Join the Network!

Image
In one year, The Richmond Food Recovery Network is expected to:
  • Save 225,000kg of food from being thrown away
  • Recover 300,000 worth of meals to feed Richmond’s hungry
  • Generate $1.25 million in savings to Richmond-based food businesses and charities
  • Provide 50,000kg of feed to Richmond’s hobby farmers
Join here!

Businesses, Charities, Farmers – if you have surplus:

  • Food For Meals
  • Food For Animal Feed
  • Food For Compost
  • Kitchen Equipment
  • Food Packaging
  • Wholesale Products

Suppliers, Processors, Retailers – if you need:

  • Overstock
  • Mislabelled Products
  • Distressed Products
  • Imperfect Products
  • Used Kitchen Equipment
  • Unused Packaging

Join the Richmond Food Recovery Network

Register My Organization!

An Opportunity for the Community

The Richmond Food Recovery Network supports the City’s strategic plan to be a sustainable and environmentally-conscious city.

“As the mayor the City of Richmond and Chair of the National Zero Waste Council, I personally endorse FoodMesh for taking a needed approach to addressing food waste that affects us all.

This combination of entrepreneurialism and innovation on the part of FoodMesh is welcome and the type of thinking needed to reduce food waste and creating a closed loop food system.”

Mayor Malcom Brodie

The launch of the Richmond Food Recovery Network couldn't come at a better time. Because we are in a food waste crisis.
Over half of that wasted food is avoidable but is discarded because it is easier and cheaper to waste the food than to redistribute it.
Meanwhile, the need for food is at an all-time high.
3,484 people accessed the Richmond Food Bank over 27,000 times in 2018. The City of Richmond is taking a stand.

Presentation from the first Lunch and Learn 

FoodMesh and Vancouver Coastal Health presented an online conference, in April, to find out the food needs and resources within the City of Richmond.
Representatives from Provincial and Local Government, as well as Charities and Nonprofits attended the online session, led by Jessica Regan of FoodMesh.
Audio recorded during the online conference, with Jessica Regan of FoodMesh facilitating.

FAQ

58% of all food produced in Canada is never consumed
The Avoidable Food Crisis of Food Waste: Technical Report

HERE’S WHAT THE NETWORK HAS ACCOMPLISHED SINCE NOVEMBER

Image
Donation value
$1,1,695
...so far
Image
Emissions saved
0,031
KG of Co2-E
Image
meals provided
0,364
*meal size 600 gr
Image
Food Rescued
0,379
KG
As a member of the Richmond Food Recovery Network, depending on your type of organization, you can participate in one, or both of the programs:
The FoodMesh Marketplace: is open to any food business, charity or farmer, and is the online platform on which you can buy, sell, donate or claim donated unsold surplus food. Food suppliers can choose to either sell their food to another business, or donate it to charity. Registration to join the Marketplace is completely free.
The Retail Food Recovery Program: Food retailers can sign up to have all of their surplus/unsold food collected, so they don’t have to waste any of it. A charity takes the food, is responsible for sorting it and distributing it to other charities for meals, and/or to farmers for animal feed or compost. The retailer pays a flat rate to have their surplus food taken away, and the charity responsible for sorting and distributing the food, is paid for their time.
To learn more about these programs, or to explore which one will best suit your needs, register using the link at the bottom, or contact FoodMesh at Richmond@foodmesh.ca, and a member of the team will happily assist you.
I’d like to join the network now!