Name: Save-the-Bread
Address: CA

Upcoming Events

About

Making Change Possible by Fighting Food Waste

Founded in 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Save-the-Bread has been making an impact in trying to stop food waste, fight hunger, support mental health, and save the planet.

Post-COVID inflation continues to hit us hard every day, making living hand-to-mouth, especially for low-income/unemployed/homeless individuals.

Thanks to the local bakeries and restaurants that are helping us carry out our mission in the Toronto-Scarborough community. We are doing our part in making sure that bread and restaurant-cooked foods are not wasted at the end of the day.

What We Do & Why We Do

As social entrepreneurs, we are trying to stop food waste by collecting unsold bread/baked goods from bakeries/grocery stores, or cooked food from restaurants, to feed people in need. Quite a few bakeries donate unsold goods to local charitable programs at the end of the day. Sometimes, volunteers visit local bakeries to pick up the unsold bread and baked goods which they distribute to local charities. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Yet, food waste still poses a huge issue as several restaurants, groceries, and bakeries are still throwing away cooked meals and/or baked goods as they are no longer needed at the end of the day. These foods simply end up in landfills. To keep up with the demand for freshness, throwing away food shouldn't be a choice of retailers. And, there are still a lot of people who spend nights on the streets on empty stomachs.

We are working on several socially focused goals that are all tied up into one foremost issue - food waste. These are defined as:

Stop food waste;

Stop hunger & Support mental health;

Stop waste of all the energy and water it takes to grow, harvest, transport, and package food;

Save the planet from producing methane—a greenhouse gas

It is important to understand that the presence of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere affects our planet's temperature and climate by forming ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant, exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year (Environmental Protection Agency, 2022).

The largest sources of methane emissions from human activities include, but are not limited to, livestock digestion process, and landfills. Food waste goes to the landfill where it rots and produces greenhouse gases. Canada is strongly committed to reducing methane emissions by decreasing ozone formation which could prevent over 200,000 premature deaths each year, hundreds of thousands of asthma-related emergency room visits, and over 20 million tons of

crop losses a year by 2030 (Government of Canada, 2022). Currently, more than 50 percent of all food produced in Canada goes to waste, higher than the global average of one-third.

References

Government of Canada. (2022, March 25). Government of Canada launches next steps towards deeper methane reductions from oil and Gas. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2022/03/government-of-canada-launches-next-steps-towards-deeper-methane-reductions-from-oil-and-gas.html

Environmental Protection Agency. (2022, June 9). Importance of Methane. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane#:~:text=Methane%20(CH4)%20is%20a,%2Dinfluenced)%20and%20natural%20sources.

Fundraiser: Fighting Food Waste & Poverty

Funds collected through bake sale fundraiser, and Krispy Kreme fundraiser, customized shirts, pens, cups, or other items are used to:

* Give incentives to local restaurant owners to give away unsold/leftover foods/bread to fight food waste and hunger, and to protect the environment.

* Purchase paper-based packing boxes, spoons/forks, bags, wraps for bread, etc. if restaurants or bakeries, or stores are not able to provide these.

* Purchase warm jackets, clothes, shoes, hand sanitizers/wipes, etc. for homeless people on the streets/shelters houses in Toronto and Scarborough Area

* Purchase gift cards for groceries ($50 - 100 per individual)

Please join us for this cause to fight food waste, feed the needy/homeless and fight hunger, promote good mental health, and give people better hopes for tomorrow.

Giving back to the Community

Redistributing unsold produce to food banks or hunger-relief charities is a great thing to do no matter what, but in a time of particular economic hardship for many, it will be especially appreciated to distribute unsold bread or cooked food to those who are homeless or have no access to kitchens. We mainly focus on marginalized communities including BIPOC (black, indigenous, and other people of colour) and LGBTQ+ who are stigmatized based on their identity and therefore face incredible hardships due to joblessness, homelessness, food insecurity, and poverty.

Food Insecurity, Poverty, and its Link to Mental Health Illness

Among many social issues in Toronto, food insecurity, homelessness, and poverty are wicked problems that lead to mental health issues and affect peoples' abilities to function in society. According to Toronto Public Health, food insecurity is inadequate or insecure access to food due to lack of money which affects almost 1 in 5 Toronto households (18.5 %) and is a serious public health issue because it is closely related to negative mental and physical health outcomes.

The discrimination and stigma associated with poverty and homelessness are making vulnerable people even more susceptible to suffering from long-term mental health issues and suicidal tendencies. Our objective is to fight hunger, help reduce food waste, and fight food insecurities and poverty while giving people hope for tomorrow.

Fundraise

We appreciate your support in this fundraiser. We are transforming lives and building brighter futures for people and the environment. However, none is possible without your help.

To contribute to this fundraiser, please send payment via Bank E-Transfer to:

SaveTheBreadSE@gmail.com