Restaurant reduces waste, donates leftovers

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This article was published 11/01/2021 (1991 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A local eatery is serving up a simple solution to help tackle issues of food waste in the industry and hunger in the community.

St. James Burger & Chip Co., located at 1866 Ness Ave., is now working with the Leftovers Foundation to provide extra food to West End 24/7 Safe Space (WE24). Operated through Spence Neighbourhood Association, WE24 provides an overnight space and resources for youth aged 13 to 26.

“We make a lot of our food fresh every day, and sometimes that means we can have a fair bit of waste — especially these days,” said Kevin Ramberran, one of the owners of St. James Burger & Chip Co.

“Despite managing our production well and keeping waste low, it is impossible to eliminate it entirely.”
Ramberran and his partners were discussing what to do about the situation and considered providing the leftovers to a local outreach facility.

“We started figuring out which one of us would be driving it over every day,” he said.  “Then my brother Ravi remembered he had heard about a group doing that exact thing.”

After some quick research, they discovered that the Leftovers Foundation seemed to offer precisely what they needed.

This type of initiative is new to Winnipeg and is already gaining momentum. The Leftovers Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in Calgary, aims to reduce food waste by picking up excess food from vendors and delivering it to a pre-matched service agency.

“They have made the sign-up process super easy and worked with my team to figure out the best way to get these donations out daily when we have leftover food. They make it super-simple for us,” Ramberran said.

“Every day, we get a call before we close asking if we have anything leftover to donate. We cook our remaining prepped fries and pack up our remaining chili, and a volunteer picks it up and delivers it to West End 24/7. We loved that it was near to us and helps the community.”

The organization outlines concrete rules for what can be donated to ensure that food is handled safely, Ramberran added.

“We are fortunate to be a fairly low-waste restaurant, so the only items we end up wasting are chili or fries. Given the way we prep our fries and chili, it is not uncommon to have a couple solid bowls of chili left over or 10 to 20 servings of fries,” he said.

“We actively try to keep our waste down but it’s not a perfect science, so it’s great to be able to put that food to use.”

WE24 operations director David F. Cole expressed gratitude for the initiative.

“The community has stepped up in numerous and incredible ways during this pandemic and this is just another example of community care — and we are so, so grateful for it,” Cole said. “Many youth will benefit from this.”

Ever since St. James Burger & Chip Co. announced they would be donating their leftovers, other restaurant owners have reached out for more information about the service.

“We sure hope others jump on board — and also volunteers,” Ramberran said.

“Times can be really tough for a lot of people right now, and that means they’re even tougher for people who were in need to start with. If you find yourself with a bit extra to go round, it’s really worth considering a way to help those with less.”

Brandy Bobier, city lead co-ordinator for the Leftovers Foundation, encourages other restaurants and coffee shops to get involved, particularly those that would have food donations available later in the day. Anyone who would like more information can contact her by phone at 204-260-6943 or email at brandy@rescuefood.ca

Anyone interested in volunteering for the organization can visit www.rescuefood.ca for more information.