Government of Canada investment brings nutritious surplus food to vulnerable Canadians

St. Hyancinthe, Quebec – The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, was at Nutri Group Head office, in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, today to announce details of the first-ever federal government program that will provide millions of pounds of quality, nutritious, surplus food to Canada’s most vulnerable populations.

 

The innovative Surplus Food Rescue Program is a $50-million federal initiative designed to address urgent, high volume, highly perishable surplus products falling under fruit, vegetables, meat and fish and seafood. These surpluses were created because the COVID-19 pandemic largely shut down the restaurant and hospitality industry, leaving many producers without a key market for their food commodities.

 

The Program awarded contributions to eight organizations that leverage existing food redistribution and recovery networks and agencies, who will bring the food to every region in the country. Partners, which include leading not-for-profits Food Banks Canada and Second Harvest, and La Tablée des Chefs, will redistribute products such as potatoes, walleye, chicken, turkey, eggs, and more. In total, the program will redistribute approximately 12 million kilograms of surplus food to more food insecure families that would otherwise have been wasted.

 

For over 30 years, Nutri-Group and its partner producers have been providing consumers in Canada with high-quality sustainable eggs, while helping farmers build stronger businesses and rural communities. Through the Surplus Food Rescue Program, Nutri Group will be providing Food Banks Canada and Second Harvest more than 1 million dozen eggs at cost to ensure Canadians continue to receive fresh, nutritious food during the pandemic. The eggs will be redistributed to many food banks and local food organizations across Canada, notably across the network of moissons in Quebec.

 

The significant disruptions to Canada’s restaurant and hospitality industry caused by COVID-19 has left many producers with surplus food and no way to get it onto the plates of Canadians. The eight partnerships announced which involve over 100 different organizations will help farmers meet the needs of vulnerable Canadians and recover the cost of their efforts.

 

The funding provided under the Program is ensuring producers and food processors like Nutri Group are fairly compensated for their work at the cost of production, while growing relationships with community food providers and supporting efforts to reduce food waste.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.