Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced the 12 finalists of the Business Models Streams for the Food Waste Reduction Challenge. Minister Bibeau met virtually with the finalists and learned about their innovative solutions to reduce food waste.
The Challenge, launched in November 2020, aims to deliver high-impact solutions to food waste in Canada. With more than half (58%) of Canada's annual food supply wasted or lost, it is critical to tackle food waste to build a more sustainable future. The Business Models Streams focus on business model solutions that can prevent or divert food waste at any point from farm to plate.
With the Government of Canada's investment for this initiative under the Food Policy for Canada, the first round of the Challenge attracted 343 applications from innovators across Canada and around the world. The 12 finalists are Canadian commercial and non-commercial organizations with entries that span a diverse range of areas including production, inventory management, food recovery and upcycling.
Each finalist will receive $400,000 and move on to the final stage of the Challenge. Over the next 12 months, finalists will accelerate and scale up the commercialization of their solution. Finalists are competing to win one of two grand prizes of up to $1.5 million.
The Food Waste Reduction Challenge is part of the first-ever Food Policy for Canada, which serves as a roadmap for a healthier and more sustainable food system in Canada. It is a vision that all people should be able to access the healthy food they need in a dignified manner. By encouraging more solutions to food waste in Canadian society, we can increase food availability, save consumers and businesses money and strengthen our food systems, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
