June 01, 2023, Burnaby, BC – “Rethinking Food,” a short film produced by Rich&Jay in partnership with the Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB) and Langley’s ReFeed Farms, recently collected a Telly Awards Gold for documenting the broken Canadian food system which sees $50 billion worth of food go to waste annually while 1 in 5 Canadians experiences food insecurity (Food Banks Canada).
The scope of the crisis is staggering. Since last May, the GVFB has registered 800-1000 new clients per month, which means that more than 3,000 new food aid clients have signed up in the short time since “Rethinking Food” was released on February 1s t 2023. As client numbers have doubled, the GVFB’s food distribution has grown from 5M lbs in 2020 to an expected 8.5M in 2023. This model isn’t sustainable in the face of such increasing demand with new approaches and solutions needed to help address food insecurity.
This 9-minute film brings experts and advocates together to discuss food insecurity and shine a light on a unique partnership between Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB) and Langley’s ReFeed Farms who have developed a zero-loss food system they call “Circular Nutrition™. ReFeed extracts 100% utility and nutrition from unused food with a process which starts by taking in industrial quantities of pre-consumer excess produce which they sort and redirect to the GVFB, adding large quantities of healthy, fresh food for Food Bank clients.
“Every year, the demand on food banks increases, and every year we work hard to raise funds to feed more people” said GVFB CEO, David Long. “We’re thrilled that Rethinking Food won this award and hope it will help spread the word about the crisis in our broken food system. We need creative solutions, like ReFeed farms to help fix the supply of healthy, nutritious food to those in need while stopping the waste.”
Commenting on their award, Rich&Jay Creative said: “Through this film, we aimed to provoke dialogue, inspire action, and ignite a collective effort to transform our food system. We firmly believe that everyone deserves access to nutritious food, and it is our shared responsibility to address this crisis. We are honored to have played a part in the creation of “Rethinking Food,” and we commend the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and ReFeed Farms for their relentless dedication to finding effective solutions.”
Visit refeedfarms.com to watch the film and learn more about how they are working on solutions to fix the broken food system and make it more robust and resilient. Visit foodbank.bc.ca to learn about the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.
About Rich&Jay Creative: Rich&Jay is a brand consultancy that provides brand strategy and award-winning content to social impact companies worldwide.
About ReFeed Farms: About ReFeed: ReFeed is a nutrient upcycling company on a mission to regenerate the world’s soil while feeding communities, reducing food waste, and healing the planet. At their innovative zero-waste facilities, ReFeed uses their Circular Nutrition™ process to RESCUE and REDIRECT imperfect and excess produce to nourish food-insecure communities, upcycles agri-food byproducts into livestock feed and manufacture and distribute regenerative soil amendment products that feed the soil and create healthier communities. Learn more at refeedcanada.com.
About the Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB): The GVFB is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide healthy food to those in need. The GVFB provides assistance to over 16,000 people each month through direct distribution in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, and the North Shore. The GVFB also provides food support to 141 community agencies throughout these communities, such as housing agencies, women and children’s shelters, transition houses and after-school programs, which in turn provide meals and snacks to thousands of people each week.
