Company creates innovative solution to 20-ton-a-day food waste problem: ‘I cannot be bored’

Thinking about food waste doesn’t have to be a downer. Over the last 10 years, a Canadian company has proved that passion can create wonderful (and delicious) solutions to the planet’s waste problem.

Meet Loop Mission. It takes food that’s destined for the landfill and turns it into juices, craft beers, energy bites, and more. According to Flavour Network, the company’s spark was a phone call in 2015.

Fred Monette worked for Courchesne Larose, a Quebecois fruit and vegetable distributor. Monette told David Côté, who was building Rise Kombucha at the time, that Courchesne Larose was throwing out 20 tons of produce a day. Côté couldn’t believe it and initially didn’t make the connection.

However, Monette was persistent. Eventually, Côté went to the Courchesne Larose warehouse with Julie Poitras-Saulnier, who worked in sustainability and had just met Côté. They saw with their own eyes that Courchesne Larose really was trashing 20 tons of food a day and wanted to do something about it.

Now, Loop Mission is, according to Côté’s Flavour Network interview, “currently the only food manufacturer in the world that transforms produce that is supposed to go on a grocery store shelf.”

Loop is leading the way by completely reimagining how food companies source ingredients for their products. The company is also setting a standard for how to reduce food waste through a circular economy.

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Recycle Track Systems stated that the U.S. generates around 60 million tons of food waste a year, which is almost 40% of the food supply. That’s also worth almost $218 billion, 130 billion meals, or the equivalent of each person in the U.S. throwing out 975 average-sized apples annually.

Loop’s work may not seem like much compared to those numbers, especially since they don’t take Canada into consideration. However, despite all of this, Loop is saving around 140 tons of food a week, according to Food in Canada.

Other more uplifting numbers include the 95 (or more) truckloads of clementines Loop salvages every year. The company also received $1.5 million from Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian government to invest in its Loop Synergy program — a branch of Loop Mission that aims to rescue even more fresh produce every year.

On top of lowering the volume of landfills, reducing food waste has a host of other benefits. It means lower grocery bills, less food insecurity, and cleaner land and water.

While Loop Mission has the resources to swing big, individuals also have ways to make an impact. You can learn how to keep your food fresh for longer and extend the life of your leftovers. Additionally, supporting eco-friendly initiatives or your favorite sustainable company can help.

As for Loop itself, its three savvy founders and 75 employees won’t be running out of ideas and initiatives any time soon.

When asked about what keeps him inspired, Côté told Flavour Network: “I cannot be bored because our core mission is to reduce food waste, and there’s so much innovation through all the waste out there.”

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