Chicken, eggs both go first as feds roll out COVID-19 food surplus program

Aug 13, 2020 | 9:16 AM

OTTAWA, ON – More than one million dozen eggs will be redistributed via an emergency federal program designed to help farmers faced with too much food and nowhere to sell it.

The $50-million surplus food program was announced by the Liberal government earlier this year as one way to help the agriculture sector cope with some of the pressures created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The near shutdown of the hospitality industry has meant a sharp decline in the number of places to sell perishable foods, meaning hundreds of millions of kilograms of food are at risk of going to waste.

At the same time, food banks are reporting a sharp increase in the number people seeking assistance, having lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

The innovative Surplus Food Rescue Program is designed to address urgent, high volume, highly perishable surplus products falling under fruit, vegetables, meat and fish and seafood.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

On Thursday (August 13), Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the Program awarded contributions to eight organizations that leverage existing food redistribution and recovery networks and agencies, which will bring the food to every region in the country.

Partners, which include leading not-for-profits Food Banks Canada and Second Harvest, and La Tablée des Chefs, will redistribute products such as potatoes, walleye, chicken, turkey, eggs, and more. In total, the program will redistribute approximately 12 million kilograms of surplus food that would otherwise have been wasted.

by The Canadian Press

Chicken, eggs both go first as feds roll out COVID-19 food surplus program

What's Happening