Helping Montrealers reduce food waste
Posted September 7, 2022 9:30 pm.
Last Updated September 7, 2022 11:29 pm.
Every year in Canada, 11 million tonnes of edible food is thrown away, according to a report by Second Harvest. To combat this, Johny Saliby a Lebanese-Montrealer designed an app named Sauvegarde.
Johny Saliby creator of Sauvegarde. (Photo credit: Johny Saliby)
The app connects cafes, restaurants, bakeries and small grocery stores with users to sell the surplus that would otherwise be thrown away at reduced prices.
“It’s an application that allows retailers to really sell their surplus at a discount to individuals, to anyone that has the app, in order to not only reduce waste, but also reduce their losses and to build a new clientele,” describes Saliby.
This includes meals, products that are almost expired, or even ugly fruits and vegetables that have been discarded.
“It could be a variety of different things. It could be items that are close to their best before date.It could be items that are nonperishable goods that are past their best before date. It could be products that are from a bakery like breads, pastries from the day.”
Saliby, says he was taught at a young age by his middle eastern family to not waste food, and after his daughter was born he decided to create the app, releasing it last year it has grown from 30 participating stores to now close to 300.
With the growth, he has been able to significantly lessen the amount of food waste.
“Sauvegarde was able to reduce six tonnes of CO2 equivalent since September 1st, which is equivalent to about 60 roundtrip flights from Montreal to Toronto,” Saliby said.
The app not only reduces food waste, but also provides users with reduced pricing.
“It means savings for them since they can buy food that’s perfectly good at a low price and of course, the planet benefits from reduced carbon footprint related to waste. So it’s a win win solution,”
And while it’s a win-win for users, retailers, and the environment, Salibly says he wishes apps like his didn’t need to exist.
“I know it sounds silly, but we’re trying to eradicate food waste and so once that’s done, then there’s no purpose for the app. The app is just there just as a plug in, as a tool for emergency use, as a backup. But really, down the down the line, we want to have a more concrete solution,”
Saliby says he aims to have the app available throughout Canada by 2030 – but hopes more is done in the time leading up to that.
