P.E.I. Food Share makes change to focus on waste

The Facebook group P.E.I. Food Share is changing how it works so it can stay true to its goals of cutting back food waste and helping people in need. 

The group started with those goals in mind, but has recently found the number of requests for food has been greater than the amount of food being donated. 

"It wasn't really cutting down on food waste cause then donors were going to the store and buying these things in most cases. And if that wasn't happening, there just wasn't a whole lot coming in," says Heather Somers, one of the administrators with P.E.I. Food Share.  

"The help just wasn't there for them, like we would have liked to see it."

Somers said people looking for food won't be able to post on the page, but can still see donations posted and make plans to get the food. 

"It just kind of got to the point where we said OK we've been doing the same thing here and it's just not working. So I think we need to reboot this and do something a little bit different." 

Somers said the group appreciates the generosity of those who were buying food, but they want people to be more cognizant of the amount of food they are buying and potentially wasting. 

'Want people to know we're there'

"Before it gets to that point where people need to throw stuff out of their fridge, we want them to say, 'Oh hey, I know what I could do with this. I could donate it to P.E.I. Food Share,'" she said. 

"We want people to know we're there. Know that there are lots of people out there who would be very happy to accept what's being donated to the group." 

It just doesn't make sense, the amount of food that's being thrown out and wasted.— Heather Somers, P.E.I. Food Share

She said ideally, they would like to see multiple people donating every day. Then people who need food can see what's available, and make a plan to get it.

The group takes donations from individuals, as well as farmers, restaurants, bakeries, pet food stores and other businesses that may have excess food.

Somers said she keeps storage containers with her, so she can collect food from events she is invited to, where there is food left over, including a baby shower. 

"When the shower was over and everybody's going 'Oh, what are we going to do with all this food?' I was like, I can help with that!" she said. 

"It just doesn't make sense, the amount of food that's being thrown out and wasted, and the amount of people who are literally going hungry."

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