A free feast made entirely from rescued food will be served at City Hall Park on Thursday.
Local growers, producers and grocery stores have donated “imperfect food” to be transformed into delicious meals for 500 people.
The initiative using food that’s almost reached its best-before date and mislabeled food is based on England’s Feeding the 5000, a global movement that sheds the light on food waste.
Red Deer College’s Cook Apprentice students will prepare and serve the food from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Christina Seidel, Executive Director, Recycling Council of Alberta, said food waste accounts for 50 per cent of waste worldwide, taking up unnecessary space in landfills.
“The RCA wants to educate Alberta’s residents on the importance and impact wasted food has on our environment and we hope Feed 500 will help Albertan’s understand how they can take action to reduce waste,” she said.
Lauren Maris, the city’s Environmental Program specialist, said Canadians throw out over 300 million meals a year.
Maris said food waste is one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in the landfill.