Tourism Ottawa wants to reduce food waste in the capital region.
Tourism Ottawa said in a statement that it has partnered with La Tablet des Chefs, an organization that collects surplus food and redistributes it to community organizations.
Together, the two organizations will lead a first-of-its-kind destination-driven program to maximize food recovery from Canada's events sector.
The program gives venues hosting large events tools to help them build relationships with local community organizations and provides links for them to donate surplus food from their events.
La Tablée des Chefs’ role is to work closely with each donor and community organization to ensure a food recovery process that is sustainable, safe, organized and easy to implement.
“We're really encouraged by Tourism Ottawa's leadership as the first tourism organization to directly join our efforts to steer the industry in the right direction,” said Jean-François Archambeau, founder and CEO of La Tablet des Chefs. “Food waste is a real concern and we're pleased to be able to turn this into something very positive for all involved.”
Tourism Ottawa also hopes the partnership will help raise awareness about the importance of food waste collection and addressing food insecurity in the community.
“This partnership marks a major step forward in our efforts to build a more resilient and sustainable tourism industry,” said Michael Crocutt, president and CEO of Ottawa Tourism. “We are proud to join forces with an organization as talented and thoughtful as La Tablet des Chefs, and we are confident that by working together we can make a meaningful impact towards the broader wellbeing of our local communities, both on an environmental and social level.”
Interested groups can contact Tourism Ottawa to learn more about the initiative.
