More anti-waste tips in Trois-Rivières

About 1.2 million tonnes of food is wasted in Quebec every year. On this food loss awareness day, here are some tips from traders in the Trois-Rivières region.

An all-you-can-eat buffet: meaning there will inevitably be some leftovers after a meal. Food that ends up in the trash, but not in Savers des Continents. We donate it to an organization.

“With what we give, the artisans make 100 meals a day. We definitely can’t give them the seafood, those things, but the batter, the fryer, the sauce…” explained restaurant manager Joni Desas.

We also serve small plates to avoid over-serving food, and reduce portions when we cut meat. The goal: as little waste as possible.

The Quebec Hotel Association has also taken up the challenge. The best conservation technique is close monitoring of inventory to be as close to reality as possible, donations to community organizations…like at Rouge Vin restaurant.

“We deal with our surplus food here in the downtown Pointe de Rue organization. We have cold buffets like sandwiches, hot buffets like leftover chicken, rice. They can be sent every time we have something,” explains dining room manager Louis-Philippe Picard.

At Pannetier in Trois-Rivières, we use the Too Good To Go application. The bakery offers baskets for $5, originally worth $15, and inside, we put quiches, sandwiches, soups, etc. In short, fresh products that cannot be frozen. This way, we can sell the stock on the same day.

“We freeze our unsold items like bread and pastries at the end of the day. We’re going to put them in boxes of six at a discount, so it’s 50% off,” added Olivier Letarte, co-owner of the place.

Sending leftovers to the trash doesn’t pay for the company or the planet. Pastries or breads are liquidated in the basket last. Next, we recycle.

“When we have products that are past their three-day freshness, we take them, cut them up, and we put them in the dessert of the day. At lunchtime and in the afternoon, people come to eat,” Sylvain Gelinas.

A final tip to avoid waste is to pamper employees at the end of their day.