More than 800 kilograms of food was rescued and transformed into a delicious feast today at Feed 500 Red Deer.

The event, organized in partnership by the City of Red Deer, Red Deer College and the Recycling Council of Alberta, brings attention to the issue of food waste. Based on the international Feeding the 5000 global movement, the idea is simple – feed 5000 people – or 500 in the case of Red Deer – with edible food that would otherwise be thrown away.

The following food was rescued and diverted from the landfill which included over 800 kilograms of fruit, vegetables, meat and poultry, 250 loaves of bread, 15.6 litres of juice and other miscellaneous items including spices, oil and condiments.

Based on the food that was rescued, students from RDC’s Cook Apprentice Program planned and prepared the menu which included Borscht, curry chicken and potato hash, bread pudding with plum sauce, and medley madness smoothie.

Approximately 1,750 portions were served and there was no food left over. Feed 500 was also a zero waste event, and all food was served on compostable servingware.

To learn how you can reduce your food waste, visit www.reddeer.ca/foodwaste.

– Fawcett