Founder Jagger Gordon says it’s a way to help feed those in the city who are less fortunate, while simultaneously reducing food waste.
The chef who made it his mission to end food waste in the city now wants to end hunger too.
Jagger Gordon is launching Soup Bar, a model he describes as Toronto’s first subsidized eatery where patrons are allowed to pay what they can in an effort to feed those less fortunate.
“If you can afford to eat, you can pay for someone else to eat,” said Gordon.
Through his project Feed It Forward, Gordon is already collecting unused, unsold food bound for the landfill and creating nutritious, balanced meals. In the new subsidy system, a chip is placed into a jar for every $2.50 meal purchased. Anyone who can’t afford a meal can take a token out of the jar and use it as payment.
Gordon has no concerns about anyone abusing the system. “I don’t judge anyone,” he said. “If you are humble enough to come and utilize one of the chips for a meal, you’ve earned it.”
Soup Bar opens May 21 at the Scadding Court Community Centre. It’ll primarily serve soup and sandwiches but will add other items such as veggie burgers and hot dogs.
“Let’s just take care of the less fortunate and make sure no food is thrown away,” said Gordon.
Toronto chef Jagger Gordon’s Soup Bar promises to be a community food shop with a unique way of feeding those who need a hot meal. It’s pay what you can, no questions asked.
Many who walk by Chef Jagger Gordon’s food stall at Scadding Court are curious to know why he’s giving away bread for free. Gordon’s mission is to feed the hungry using perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste.
Toronto’s shipping container food market is open year round, but things really start to heat up at the corner of Bathurst and Dundas in the summer months.
That’ll be especially true this year because Market 707, located outside the Scadding Court Community Centre, will officially welcome a new soup bar into the fray on May 21.
Run by chef Jagger Gordon of Feed It Forward, which aims to eliminate food waste and provide meals to those in need, Soup Bar will operate on a pay-what-you-can and pay-it-forward model to help ensure all people have an opportunity to grab a fresh, warm meal.
“Through Pay-It-Forward, a subsidized meal is purchased and a meal token is placed into a bowl,” explains Gordon, via email.
“A person in need then retrieves a token from the bowl and uses it as payment, a transaction that means no one has to ask or beg for a free meal.”
Soup Bar’s already had its soft launch, but its grand opening is on May 21.
Toronto’s shipping container food market is open year round, but things really start to heat up at the corner of Bathurst and Dundas in the summer months.
That’ll be especially true this year because Market 707, located outside the Scadding Court Community Centre, will officially welcome a new soup bar into the fray on May 21.
Run by chef Jagger Gordon of Feed It Forward, which aims to eliminate food waste and provide meals to those in need, Soup Bar will operate on a pay-what-you-can and pay-it-forward model to help ensure all people have an opportunity to grab a fresh, warm meal.
“Through Pay-It-Forward, a subsidized meal is purchased and a meal token is placed into a bowl,” explains Gordon, via email.
“A person in need then retrieves a token from the bowl and uses it as payment, a transaction that means no one has to ask or beg for a free meal.”
Soup Bar’s already had its soft launch, but its grand opening is on May 21.
TORONTO — During the final day of the Restaurants Canada Show, in Toronto, chef Jagger Gordon shared his passion for waste-based cooking with show attendees. Jagger, who founded the non-profit organization Feed it Forward, utilizes an innovative waste-based cooking program to feed those in need while reducing the amount of food waste that ends up in landfills.
The idea for Feed it Forward came from Gordon’s experience as a sergeant overseas, where he witnessed his crew disposing of hundreds of pounds food waste. This experience inspired the chef to use food that would otherwise be wasted to help feed those who go hungry.
Gordon showed guests how to utilize scraps and food that may be past its expiration date. Each dish prepared was made from produce that would typically end up in the landfill, such as the scraps of vegetables and produce that has brown spots, is wilted or past its best -before date. To demonstrate, Gordon and his team prepared pakora made from vegetable scraps. The pakora was made using chickpea flower, sparkling water and any leftovers from throughout the week — including ends of carrots and broccoli stems — then baked or fried. The team also made a tea from pineapple peels and a blend of spices.
Gordon stressed that waste-based cooking could save restaurants hundreds of dollars every year and gave helpful tips for wasting as little produce as possible: food planning to avoid letting food go bad, keep to the outside area of the grocery store to stay away from processed foods and freeze any scraps from vegetables gathered over the week to use in dishes such as soups and stews.
Jagger Gordon is spending Christmas Eve preparing more than 600 meals for the needy — all with food that was destined for a landfill.
The Toronto chef wants to see the federal government make it mandatory for grocery stores and restaurants to donate food approaching its expiry date to food banks and shelters, instead of throwing it in the trash.
So, ahead of Christmas, Gordon picked up the phone and started asking for donations. Some of those he contacted were apprehensive at first.
“There’s always the issue of them saying, ‘Ok, we’re not too sure about this.’ But I say, it’s called the Good Samaritan law,” he told CBC News while chopping, prepping and organizing dinner at the Evangel Hall Mission. “If you know it’s good and I know it’s good, then we have no issues.”
Gordon first came up with the idea in 2014. As a caterer, he found he often had plenty of good food leftover that would otherwise be headed for the garbage. He decided he’d start packaging and freezing it.
‘Why would you not put it on someone’s table?’
All told, it was enough to allow him to feed eight families over the span of a year, he says.
The experience inspired him to launched the Feed It Forward program. Now he’s developing an app to make it easier for grocery stores and restaurants to redirect their surplus food to those who need it most.
Banning food waste is a concept already in place in parts of Europe. Earlier this year, France banned food waste, forcing supermarkets to sign agreements with charities so no edible food ends up in the trash.
Italy offers tax breaks when businesses donate leftovers. But each year in Canada, $31 billion worth of food ends up in landfills or compost, according to a 2014 report from Value Chain Management International. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay told CBC News earlier this year the government is set to hold discussions about food policy in 2017, but hasn’t said whether reducing waste will be one its priorities.
“If there’s perfectly good food, why would you not donate it? Why would you not put it on someone’s table?” Jagger said. “Yes, there’s world hunger, but there’s also hunger in our own community.”
‘It’s no one’s choice to be poor’
Leslie Squaire knows that desperation firsthand.
Squaire was supposed to complete a Master’s program at York University, she says, when she became heavily involved with drugs and got into trouble with the law.
“It’s no one’s choice to be poor,” said Leslie Squaire, who says she has enough to rent a subsidized home but still struggles to pay for just about everything else. (CBC)
She says she ended up in a shelter and has been trying to get back on her feet for about the last ten years.
“It’s no one’s choice to be poor,” said Squaire, who now has enough to rent a subsidized home but still struggles to pay for just about everything else.
“Everyone is one step away from where I am. You don’t make your mortgage payment, your wife leaves you. People are not that far away from this.”
Somewhere to go on Christmas Day
Squaire supports the idea of the government legislating against food waste — and she’s not alone.
“There’s a lot of hungry people in this area,” said Jane Spooner.
Despite relying on the Evangel Hall Mission for the last five years, Jane Spooner considers herself one of the lucky ones. (Laura Da Silva/CBC)
Spooner has relied on the Evangel Hall Mission for the last five years, but considers herself one of the lucky ones.
“I see so many people going through the garbages and stuff. We’re in a big country and we can’t feed everybody?” she said. “The government’s got to step in and help out more.”
Still, she says, she’s grateful.
“At least I’ve got somewhere to go on Christmas Day, which is nice.”
Our cultural obsession with perfection extends even to the food we eat. If fruit is slightly bruised, we will turn up our noses at it. This attitude creates tons of unnecessary waste every day.
Due to current legislation, retailers and restaurants are prohibited from donating perfectly nutritious (and edible) food – simply because it’s nearing its labelled expiry date. As a result, hungry bellies remain empty as our landfills continue to grow. But a new organization called Feed It Forward wants to change all that. They have been petitioning the Canadian government to follow France and Italy’s lead to make it illegal to discard food fit to consume, so we can start to feed those in need instead of putting food to waste.
To draw attention to this cause, Feed It Forward is offering a Christmas Day dinner at Central Toronto Community Health Centre (168 Bathurst Street) to families in need – and you can help. Register here to become a volunteer. Feed It Forward is also seeking food donations for the day, as well as items to put into gift bags (e.g., toothpaste, deodorant, gift cards, wrapped food), toy donations for the children, scarves, hats and mitts. If you can contribute, contact Feed It Forward directly at feeditforward.ca@gmail.com.
Chef Jaggar Gordon plans to feed up to 600 people on Christmas Day with consumable food diverted from landfills.
He also wants to make it illegal for a company or organization to trash food before its expiration date so those in need can be helped throughout the year.
“Being a chef and a caterer, it’s hard to ignore the copious amount of waste in the industry and the many people who live on the streets hungry for food. No child, woman or family should go hungry in our community,” said Gordon, adding in some European countries, it’s illegal to throw away food that is fit to consume.
In 2014, Gordon started the Feed it Forward program out of his small commercial kitchen in Mississauga where he collects and prepares food for those in need with items that are just about to expire and with produce that is still edible but can’t be sold at the retail level.
Since starting, Feed it Forward has provided 12,000 meals from small amounts of donated food, and those have been distributed by churches and community groups.
The program is developing an app to connect those in need with restaurants, retailers and farmers.
“The app will provide an alternative avenue for food donation by providing a platform connecting those in need with donors,” Gordon said.
“The recipients will have unrestricted access to the donations and will receive donation notifications detailing the type of food available, locations and pick-up times in their area.”
On Christmas Day, Feed it Forward, will feed up to 600 people with the help of sponsors and volunteers at the Queen West Community Health Centre at 168 Bathurst St. between 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
Volunteers are still needed as are items for gift bags, including tooth paste, deodorant, hats mitts or gift cards. Go to feeditforward.ca.
