(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Cleaning up its act

P.A. grocery store reduces organic food waste by 100 per cent

Jul 31, 2019 | 1:19 PM

It appears Save On Foods takes the colour of its sign very seriously.

Earlier this year, the grocery store chain introduced the Loop program, and all six Saskatchewan locations were included. The idea behind the program was that organic food waste from the store could go to other destinations, instead of adding to community landfills. Prince Albert Store Manager Warren McGlone said they set a lofty goal.

“Save On Foods tried to reduce 50 per cent of their organic waste within six years, and they actually got it in six months,” he said.

The result was even better in Prince Albert at 100 per cent. McGlone said 80 per cent of their waste now goes to community groups like churches and the food bank, while 20 per cent gets picked up local area farmers.

“That helps the farmers take in the cost of what animal feed would be, and anything that is not edible by animals, actually goes into compost by the farmers,” he said.

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An article published by paNOW last May, discussed the City of Prince Albert’s intentions to look into a composting program. A report from city staff showed it would cost around $1.6 million to set up by 2020. The report acknowledged the work of some local area grocery stores to transport excess food to the food bank.

Local area farmers interested in signing up for the Save on Foods program, can contact the store. McGlone said along with the store’s other recycling initiatives, they have reduced a lot of the store’s waste output.

“The stuff that we get in the trash now, is literally the stuff that you sweep up off the ground,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell