On Monday, July 31, the Walmart Foundation announced that it will be making $1.87 million CAD, or $1.5 million USD, available to fund proposals from eligible non-profit organizations that are working towards the goal of reducing food waste in Canada.
According to the announcement, the Walmart Foundation is looking for proposals from qualified organizations that have prior-experience in formulating, proposing, and carrying out food waste reduction efforts. As of right now, requests between the range of $250,000 and $1,000,000 (USD) will be considered.
The new grants are a clear indication that Walmart (NYSE:$WMT) is committed to its plan of reducing waste in its own operations and achieving zero waste in key markets, like Canada, by the year 2025. Based on Walmart’s Global Responsibility Report, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company has diverted 77% of waste from unsold food and materials from landfill through a handful of initiatives like food donations and composting. In Canada alone, Walmart diverts 81% of its operational waste via programs which divert roughly more than a dozen waste streams from landfill.
“Reducing food waste benefits communities by sending less food to landfills, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the resources required to meet food demand, and enhancing food security,” chief sustainability officer Kathleen McLaughlin said. “Ultimately, we hope these grants, combined with our efforts to reduce food waste in our own stores and strengthen the charitable meal system, will make a meaningful contribution to reducing food waste in Canada.”
The New Grants: A Brief Overview
With this funding, Wal-Mart is looking to support promising programs that have the potential to help reduce food waste and loss. Again, the end goal is to prevent loss, maximize donations of usable food, and minimize food waste that makes its way to landfills. If you are thinking about applying, know that you will be considered in the following areas:
- Addressing food loss and waste from farm to consumer. This will include increasing one’s knowledge on the causes of food loss on farms.
- Creating capacity in the charitable food system, which includes increasing the ability to recover and move food to people in need.
- Making use of and/or developing organic recycling solutions, like advancing innovations to improve organic recycling.
Again, if you’re looking to apply, make note of the deadline date: August 21, 2017.
Featured Image: twitter
