Harvest looking into potential centre to 'rescue' food headed to landfills for Manitobans in need

Harvest Manitoba is exploring the possibility of a "food transformation centre" that would divert food from landfills and put it on the table for Manitobans who need it instead.

The organization "rescued" over nine million pounds of food which was worth $32 million last year, according to Harvest's latest annual report, released Monday, which tracks demographics of food bank clients in the province.

Vince Barletta, Harvest's CEO, says they have now commissioned a feasibility study for the food transformation project, which would aim to use food preparation techniques like freezing and dehydration in order to extend shelf life and food security in the province.

The study, which is being conducted by independent advisory firm MNP, will determine property and operational costs of the new centre, as well as environmental benefits and requirements to purchase food from inter-provincial organizations, Barletta said.

The study's results will be released publicly in early 2025, Barletta said.

"We can begin to make some decisions … on what are going to be the best processes for food transformation, and how can we make sure that products like our carrots and our squash end up on kitchen tables instead of ending up in a compost pile."

A 2019 report by Environment Canada said about 20 per cent of all food produced in the country is wasted in ways that could be prevented.

Barletta says the new centre would also look at ways to exchange goods with food banks inter-provincially.

The would mean "exchanging our potatoes, our carrots, our squash for Okanagan apples, or for vegetables from southern Ontario," he said.

Usage 'keeps going up'

Harvest Manitoba's annual report says it received over nine million pounds of food donations over the last year, purchasing nearly 4 million pounds more itself.

It also said more than half of first-time food bank users in Winnipeg were displaced Ukrainians at one point.

It's part of a larger trend, as the report found food bank usage in Manitoba rose 150 per cent since 2019, and 30 per cent in the last year.

"The number keeps going up," Barletta said.

As of March, Harvest has supported over 100,000 Manitobans each month, the report says.

It also says 40 per cent of Harvest's clients are employed.