grocers

From farm to household compost bin, over half of all food produced in Canada is wasted — and about a third of it is still edible. That waste generates nearly 56.6 million tons of greenhouse gases, including a significant amount of methane.

One of the federal government's top priorities for the year ahead involves attracting new international grocers to Canada to expand competition and drive down prices, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said on Sunday as a cabinet retreat was about to begin in Montreal.

Winter's arrival in northern Ontario once meant months when cheap, fresh produce is scarce on the Nipissing First Nation.

Federal support for Indigenous hunters and fishers tackling food insecurity in northern communities is poised to fall by 80 per cent. The decision comes as the government continues to pour millions into a subsidy program researchers say is lining grocers' pockets without providing adequate food to those most in need. 

Inuit leaders are calling for a complete overhaul of Canada's main program to reduce hunger in Northern Canada after revelations grocers in the region are pocketing up to half of a federal subsidy meant to reduce food prices. 

The $131-million annual Nutrition North subsidy is paid directly to most grocery retailers serving over 120 remote northern communities from Labrador to Yukon. Applicable only to certain foods and necessities like milk, eggs and diapers, the funds theoretically cover the region's high transportation costs and thus reduce food costs for consumers.

Restaurants, grocers, farmers and food companies are increasingly turning to chemistry and physics to tackle the problem of food waste.

"It's been pretty nice this time around," said Kootenay Co-op general manager Ari Derfel. "We've been living in a year of emergencies and this time — seeing people just come in and get what they need and not freaking out — it's been kinda calming."

Some of Canada's biggest retailers started testing alternatives to receipt paper that's coated in potentially dangerous chemicals, as pressure mounts for them to phase it out by the end of this year.