Ontario Food Collaborative Webinar with Jessica Regan and Megan Czerpak
Food waste is a shared challenge in Ontario and across Canada. It is not just about filling up landfills; it is about economic loss, environmental strain, and missed opportunities to support community well-being. According to national data, nearly half of all food produced in Canada is wasted, representing an enormous untapped resource and a major area for positive change. The Ontario Food Collaborative (OFC) hosted an educational and inspiring webinar with two expert voices Jessica Regan, CEO and co-founder of FoodMesh, and Megan Czerpak, Head of Communications, at the Love Food Hate Waste Canada (LFHW) campaign.
Building a Food Recovery Ecosystem
Jessica opened the session by sharing her experience leading FoodMesh, an organization she co-founded to help reduce food waste through technology and partnerships. The presentation broke down how FoodMesh works with municipalities, food businesses, charities, and up cyclers to create what she described as a “food recovery ecosystem.” Rather than letting edible surplus food go to waste, FoodMesh’s system connects donors and receivers through a centralized, dynamic platform.
FoodMesh’s public portal, an interactive, live-updating online tool where food businesses can list surplus food and charities can claim it. This tool functions like a food asset map but avoids the common issue of outdated information. Every time a participant updates their status, it’s reflected in real-time on the platform. This approach ensures the system stays relevant, accessible, and easy to use for everyone involved.
“Public portal – DIY connection tool” slide from Jessica Regan’s OFC webinar presentation, July 9, 2025
Setting clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) when tackling food waste on a municipal scale is important. FoodMesh originally aimed to connect 500 organizations, divert 5 million kilograms of surplus food, and rescue the equivalent of 5 million meals in three years. Thanks to strong participation and network coordination, those targets were exceeded so much so that the government renewed its partnership with FoodMesh for additional years.
In Metro Vancouver, FoodMesh found that while there are over 1,700 verified food donors, only about 15% of total food businesses were actively participating in donation programs. This leaves a significant opportunity for expansion.
An unexpected benefit of food recovery is job creation. As surplus food recovery becomes more organized, businesses hire drivers and coordinators, creating new employment opportunities while also building resilience in local economies.
Three essential steps any municipality or organization can take:
- Measure your baseline – Understand how much food waste is currently generated in your area.
- Set clear targets – Define what success looks like in terms of diversion and community support.
- Collaborate with neutral coordinators – Work with organizations like FoodMesh that can manage the logistics without competing for food themselves.
By combining technology, trust, and thoughtful partnerships, communities can create food recovery networks that benefit businesses, charities, municipalities, and households alike.
Changing Household Behaviours with Love Food Hate Waste Canada
“Household waste: by the numbers” slide from Megan Czerpak’s OFC webinar presentation, July 9, 2025
Megan is a seasoned communications leader with nearly 20 years of experience helping organizations communicate complex ideas in ways that inspire action. Her presentation opened with an eye-opening statistic: 63% of food waste from Canadian households is avoidable. That translates to around 140 kg of edible food wasted per household each year, costing the average family nearly $2,000 annually.
One contributing factor was Canada’s rise in remote work. With more people working from home post-pandemic, household food purchasing and preparation have increased. This change means greater risk of buying too much food, storing it improperly, or letting it expire unnoticed.
Many people throw away perfectly good food because of confusion around date labels. According to Second Harvest’s latest report, about 23% of all food waste across Canada’s supply chain stems from misunderstanding best-before dates. Many Canadians mistakenly treat best-before labels as safety deadlines when they are indicators of peak freshness.
LFHW, which FoodMesh now manages, is Canada’s most trusted behaviour-change campaign focused on food waste prevention. It offers households clear, simple tips such as:
- How to store food properly
- How to plan realistic grocery shopping
- How to use leftovers creatively
- How to understand date labels accurately
Through social media, blogs, newsletters, and public campaigns, LFHW has reached over 20 million Canadians since its launch in 2018. In a recent citizen challenge, 85% of participants reported reducing their food waste as a direct result of the campaign’s resources and messaging.
This fall, the campaign will focus specifically on debunking myths around best-before dates. By educating Canadians on the true meaning of these labels, the campaign hopes to empower people to waste less and save more money, while also easing the burden on municipal waste management systems.
“A unique opportunity this fall” slide from Megan Czerpak’s OFC webinar presentation, July 9, 2025
The benefits extend beyond households:
- Municipalities can reduce food waste collection costs
- Communities can minimize landfill capacity issues
- Local governments can meet climate action and waste reduction goals
In addition to public-facing resources, FoodMesh and LFHW also work directly with municipalities to co-develop custom projects, such as studying food waste behaviour in multi-family buildings or designing locally tailored interventions. There’s a real opportunity to save money, reduce environmental impact, and support vulnerable communities simply by making better use of food that would otherwise go to waste.
Final Thoughts
Food waste reduction isn’t just about doing the right thing for the environment, it’s also about building stronger, more resilient, and more affordable communities.
For municipalities, the message was clear:
- Set measurable targets
- Build partnerships with neutral coordinators
- Engage residents with clear, consistent, and trustworthy messaging
For individuals and families:
- Store your food properly
- Don’t let labels confuse you
- Make the most of what you buy
If you missed the webinar or want to explore more about food justice and mobile markets, we encourage you to watch a recording of the Ontario Food Collaborative webinar, and visit the websites of FoodMesh and Love Food Hate Waste Canada.
Ontario Food Collaborative: ofc@ontariofoodcollaborative.ca