How Business Events Can Champion Food Security and Combat Food Waste
Photo vis Getty Images.
I was recently invited to participate in a panel for MPI's the EVENT in Fredericton, joining an esteemed group of industry experts, including Matthew Blackburn from Roger's Centre Ottawa, Ted Robinson from Tourism Kingston, Head Chef Mindy Trail from Delta Hotels by Marriott Fredericton, and Desmond Lomas from Destination Edmonton—moderated by Paul Bailey of Discover Halifax. While I'm not an event planner, I work deeply on sustainable business events projects, which may make me an “accidental expert” of sorts.
Among this panel, I was humbled to learn about the work that is happening in communities across Canada.
The thing about panels is you're limited to small sound bites, and even when you've prepared thoroughly and everything goes well, you really only scratch the surface of important topics. And this one is particularly vital. Especially when a panel takes place during lunch, there's a real opportunity to connect food directly to solutions.
As a practitioner who helps stakeholders see connections, I'm passionate about food insecurity because it's where social and environmental sustainability tangibly intersect. It's a universal entry point for real impact—everyone understands food, and food connects us all to each other and to the natural world.
Here's what I would have said if I had more time.
Why This Matters: The Global Context
First, let's establish why food waste and food security should be on every event planner's radar. According to Project Drawdown's research, reducing food waste (#3) and adopting plant-rich diets (#4) rank among the top five most impactful ways to reduce carbon emissions globally. Plant-rich menus deserve another conversation entirely, but there is incredible power in shifting menu choices.
Approximately 30-40% of the food produced each year is wasted globally, and this figure rises to nearly 50% in Canada. We’re not just talking about the food itself, either; we have to consider all the embedded resources to grow and transport that food, too (from water to animal feed)! We're facing both a massive problem and a tremendous opportunity for meaningful change.
Here's what makes this issue so powerful: combating food insecurity through food recovery directly reduces food waste, creating a dual impact that addresses both social and environmental challenges simultaneously. When we redirect surplus food from events to people in need, we're not just preventing waste from going to landfills where it generates methane; we're actively nourishing communities. This connection makes addressing food waste through events one of the most vital ways to create meaningful social and environmental impact.
Meanwhile, Zero Hunger (SDG2) remains one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals with the least progress to date. The irony is stark: we produce enough food to feed everyone, yet waste nearly half of it while millions go hungry.
Making It Local: Understanding Your Community's Needs
While food security is a global issue, the most powerful action happens at the local level. Understanding your community's (or your host community’s) specific challenges makes your efforts more tangible and meaningful. Connect with local stakeholders who are actively doing this work every day. Ask questions and listen deeply.
Here in Nova Scotia, for example, we have the highest rates of food insecurity in the country. Paradoxically, we also have the highest number of farmers' markets per capita. Incredible work is happening on the ground, but gaps remain, and that's where business events can make a real difference.
A Fundamental Principle: Food Should Never Be Trash
Here's a core belief that should guide every event: food should never be waste. Food can always be food for someone or something else, whether through recovery programs that redirect surplus to people in need, or through composting systems that cycle nutrients back into food production.
Understanding this shifts our entire approach. Instead of planning for disposal, we plan for circulation. Instead of accepting waste as inevitable, we design systems that keep food in the food system.
Starting Small, Thinking Big
The beauty of addressing food waste through events is that small changes create ripple effects. Here are practical starting points:
Begin with awareness. 30-40% of the food produced each year is wasted globally. When your stakeholders, from attendees to vendors, understand the scale of the problem, they become part of the solution. Engage employees in training and empower them to speak up and take action when they identify waste. People get behind solutions they help create. Additionally, have conversations with customers and clients early on about how you can reduce food waste (and costs) together. Formalizing your commitments in policies and contracts encourages conversations to rethink traditional service practices.
Engage and build partnerships early. Connect with local food recovery organizations and composting programs before you need them. We all want to do better, but lack the connections to make it happen. Commit to the front-end effort and be prepared. Event planners are exceptionally good at doing this!
Audit and separate. Start by understanding what's being wasted at your events. Food should never mix with trash. This simple separation allows you to set targets for reduction and opens pathways for recovery.
Create feedback loops. Track what works and what doesn't at each event, then share those insights with your vendors and stakeholders. This continuous cycle of measuring, learning, and adjusting transforms good intentions into systemic change, often resulting in cost savings.
The Business Case for Action
Beyond the moral imperative, there's a compelling business case, and sometimes it is what motivates people to listen and buy in. Reducing food waste saves money, something particularly relevant when event budgets are tight. More importantly, it positions your organization as a leader in sustainability, which increasingly matters to clients, partners, and team members. We need this approach to go mainstream by setting examples of what’s possible. Now.
Event planners are uniquely positioned to create change. You're already experts at logistics, stakeholder management, and creating experiences that stay with people long after they've left. These same skills can drive meaningful environmental and social impact.
Tapping into the System
Every meal served at a business event is an opportunity to model better systems and nature-based solutions (because food is nature) with compassion for the community. When we source locally and seasonally, minimize waste, recover surplus, and compost what remains, we're not just feeding attendees—we're demonstrating what responsible circular food systems look like. We normalize them without looking back because no one wants to go back to a system of waste.
The conversations that happen around event tables can spark the innovations, partnerships, and policy changes needed to address these challenges at scale. However, it begins with acknowledging that food waste isn't just an operational detail; it's one of our most powerful opportunities for creating a more sustainable and equitable world.
Thank you again to MPI for hosting me at this incredible event and creating a space for vulnerable and authentic conversation. I am humble and grateful.
This post only scratches the surface of an incredibly complex issue that requires thoughtful, sustained effort. The best place to start is by listening to people who navigate food systems daily in their communities. The national organizations listed below can help you establish those local connections for meaningful impact.
La Tablee des Chefs - La Tablée des Chefs is a Canadian non-profit organization that recovers surplus food from hotels, restaurants, and institutions for redistribution to people facing food insecurity while also providing culinary education programs to help youth develop food autonomy.
Second Harvest - Canada's largest food rescue organization that prevents food waste by collecting surplus food from over 7,500 donors and redistributing it to communities in need across all provinces and territories.
Orbisk - Orbisk is an AI-powered food waste monitoring system that utilizes a smart camera installed above waste bins to automatically track and identify all food waste, down to the ingredient level, providing professional kitchens with data-driven insights to reduce food waste by up to 70%.
