Uniting food waste and farming at Saugeen Ridge Farm

Jim Bissett, Store Manager at Zehrs^® Goderich was one of eight colleagues from our stores and store support teams that had the opportunity to visit Saugeen Ridge Farm in Elmira, Ontario to learn more about the Loop Resource program.   

They were hosted by Saugeen Ridge Farm owners, Marni and Brook and joined by Sarah Amalia, Loop Resource Ltd. representative. Saugeen Ridge Farm, in collaboration with the Loop Resource Program and Zehrs, picks up food that is no longer suitable for human consumption and diverts it to the animals on the farm. In instances where animals also cannot eat the food waste, Saugeen Ridge Farm finds other uses for the food like composting and adding it back into their gardens and fields.     

Saugeen Ridge Farms is just one of many farms that our stores have built a relationship with. In the last two years, Jim Bissett’s Zehrs store in Goderich, ON has connected with 13 farms that divert food waste from landfills. In his store, he’s seen success right from the start with the Loop Resource program.     

For Jim, the relationship between his store and his farm partners has been a positive experience for both parties. Their joint ability to divert food waste has resulted in positive outcomes for the agricultural communities around his store.   

“The program really does work and anytime we can divert from landfill is a win for everyone. The garbage pickup at our store is at a minimum and the compactor area is kept clean and odour free, which is especially important in the summer months. The farms really do appreciate everything we do for them.”    

Jim and the team also had the opportunity to explore the farm and learn more about the end-to-end process of food diversion through Loop Resources Ltd. They explored opportunities for our stores to better support the farm. At the farm, sorting the food is done by hand in a very manual process. By having our stores remove items like the tags on the pineapple heads or the elastics from the herbs, it minimizes the risk of these pieces being missed during the manual sort and potentially harming the animals.  

“Nothing goes to waste at Saugeen Ridge Farm. We learned how the diverted food is prepared and used for the animals as well as what works best for the farm at store level.”  

With these relationships and others, Jim diverted 87% of food waste from landfill in 2023 and continues to push even higher in 2024! Jim is extremely proud of the work his colleagues do each day to support the program and the farms.