REGINA – Food waste is a big problem. But a Regina Superstore manager says there's an app for that.
Ron Ermantraut is the manager of the Real Canadian Superstore in Rochdale. He points out the app FlashFood is a way for people to get big discounts on food, and prevent this food from ending up in already overcrowded landfills.
Working with grocery giant Loblaws, the FlashFood program works like this: Food nearing its “best before date” is put up for sale on the app with a minimum 50 per cent discount on the price. Shoppers can browse the products on the app, buy them, and pick them up in store.
“It’s product that comes from all aspects of the store; deli meat, seafood, bakery, dairy products,” says Ermantrout. “It's a great way for consumers to save on a grocery bill.”
Loblaws says the app has prevented about 1.3 million pounds of food from going into the landfill, while at the same time saving shoppers over 3.5 million dollars.
Some 46 per cent of food produced in Canada, ends up in a landfill instead of someone’s stomach.
Mostly, it's food that has passed its “best before date” and wasn’t sold.
Data from Loblaws and “FlashFood” indicates in 2024, consumers across the country saved 50 million in food costs, and prevented 8 million pounds of food from getting into the landfill.
You can learn more about the app at
This story has been updated to correctly identify Loblaws, not Sobeys, as the grocery company quoted.
