#FOOD: CNE WITH SECOND HARVEST DONATE MORE THAN 25,000 LBS PRODUCE, CANNED FOOD, AND LEFTOVER PREPARED FOODS

The lights of the Midway have dimmed, and the aroma of freshly made Tiny Tom Donuts is gone, but there’s still plenty of activity at the Canadian National Exhibition as hundreds of vendors begin the process of loading out and concluding another successful season.

Today, the CNE in partnership with Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization, along with participating food vendors donated more than 25,000 lbs of surplus produce, canned goods and leftover prepared foods to be distributed to communities experiencing food insecurity. This is the CNE’s 2nd annual food rescue with Second Harvest; last year, nearly 30 CNE vendors helped to pack a truckload full of food to feed families across the GTA and surrounding communities.

As Canada’s largest community event, the CNE recognizes its responsibility to the community to ensure that any waste it produces, during its 18-day event, including food surplus, can be offset to promote a circular economy.

The food rescue initiative is part of the CNE’s overarching commitment to environmental stewardship. Over the past year, the CNE conducted a comprehensive evaluation of its sustainability initiatives and waste diversion practices and identified opportunities to set ambitious, measurable goals to significantly reduce waste, enhance operational efficiency and champion sustainable practices.

This year (as of Aug. 29) the CNE has diverted more than 25 metric tonnes of waste from landfills, as a result of its sustainability efforts.

CNE Firsts:
2008: CNE was the first event at Exhibition Place to introduce organic recycling for food waste and organic materials
2008: CNE introduced new solar powered concessions games on the midway
2010: CNE eliminated all Styrofoam packaging
2018: CNE begins to collect waste from cooking oils to be processed, refined, cleaned and repurposed for a variety of agricultural productive uses including animal feed, biofuel, and soil for Ontario farms
2022: CNE bans the use of plastic straws, encouraging compostable straws, utensils, containers, plates and cups
2025: CNE introduces a waste diversion program mandating all food vendors to use a third-party certification that ensures all food serving packaging is 100% compostable
2025: The CNE, through a partnership with Coca-Cola introduced Oscar AI machines to help guests sort and identify the proper bin to dispose of their food, plastics, and waste