Charity donates record amount of non-perishable food [Video]

A Windsor-Essex charitable organization created a record amount of non-perishable food amidst an increase in food insecurity, both at home and abroad.

Southwestern Ontario Gleaners, located in Leamington, Ont., uses non-marketable produce from farms in the region to create a dried vegetable soup mix.

Tina Quiring, the Board Chair and Treasurer of SWO Gleaners said, as of October, they’ve distributed a record five million servings in 2024.

“We keep food out of our landfills. Perfectly edible food, nothing wrong with it, it may not look right, but it still has all the nutritional value of any food,” Quiring said.

Quiring said they receive unmarketable produce “by the truckload,” inspect and clean it, before dicing and dehydrating it. Their goal is to divert goods from the landfill while fighting food insecurity.

Traditionally, the vast majority of the mix has been bagged and transported overseas to Africa, Central America and more recently …