Chef Bob is making it easier for people access to healthy meals.
Thanks to Chef Bob’s contribution, 57,000 kg of food is saved from being thrown in the garbage every year, and more than 20,000 people are fed.
At the Centre de bénévolat et moisson Laval, a Montreal chef is working miracles. In order to feed people in need, he transforms damaged or perishable food to give it a new life. As a result, he is able to feed many people who find themselves in need, all while he does his part to minimise food waste.
Affectionately known as “Chef Bob”, Robert Petrella has an enormous job: he processes dozens of products every day to avoid waste and improve shelf-life. Fruit a little damaged? No problem: he concocts a delicious fruit salad that can then be frozen. Vegetables starting to wilt? Fear not. He’ll transform them into a canned soup that will feed a number of families!
Every day, Chef Bob has to find creative and resourceful ways to tailor his recipes to the ongoing flow of products that come through his kitchen. In general, food comes from large-scale grocery stores that are working to reduce food waste by helping individuals and families who find themselves living in poverty.
Every day, Chef Bob has to find creative and resourceful ways to tailor his recipes to the ongoing flow of products that come through his kitchen. In general, food comes from large-scale grocery stores that are working to reduce food waste by helping individuals and families who find themselves living in poverty.
Recovering these food items has a considerable impact, both environmentally and socially. Many of the nutrients we need every day are in products that are highly perishable and expensive. As a result, many low-income people have diets that are nutrient-deficient, which can ultimately affect their health. By finding alternative ways of storing these types of foods and ensuring they get to the people who need them, Chef Bob is making it easier for people access to healthy meals when they may not otherwise be able to afford them.
Thanks to Chef Bob’s contribution, 57,000 kg of food is saved from being thrown in the garbage every year, and more than 20,000 people are fed through the moisson Laval network and its partner agencies. Pretty impressive, right?