Thank You

Nearly nine years ago, I was shocked at how much unsold bread a single Calgary bakery had at closing time. I turned that shock into action and founded the Leftovers Foundation in 2012. I had no idea then it would grow into one of Canada’s largest food rescue charities.

It’s been the honour of my life to serve as the Executive Director of the foundation for the last 8 years. I’m so proud of everything our volunteers and staff have accomplished and the million plus pounds of food we’ve redirected from landfill, stuffing our vehicles to the brim every day!

I’m going on maternity leave and will be handing the reins to Audra Stevenson (@audraastevenson on twitter) I’m excited for what the future holds for Leftovers. Audra’s compassion for community building, passion and creativity for improving food systems will take everything to the next level.

Heading a group of people dedicated to showing up for community by tackling food insecurity has been a dream come true. Even during one of the most difficult crises of our lifetime, the team stepped up to ensure thousands of families across Alberta and Manitoba had access to food. Audra and the team have major plans to scale Leftovers across Canada.

I’ve so grateful to everyone who has supported the work we do at Leftovers. From volunteers to staff to restaurants to grocers to suppliers. Together, we made sure so many families didn’t go to bed hungry.

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve redirected 500,000+lbs of food and saw app usage at 96%. The team created a how-to guide for our growing usage and programs, so that every single person can be involved in food access. This is what it takes — all of us being a part of the solution.

The app was originally prototyped by high school students at Bishop McNally in Calgary a few years ago and crowd funded by Albertans. The plan to take the app technology global is in the works!

Thanks to everyone who has been a part of my journey with Leftovers. Your support made a real difference in the lives of people in our community. I’ll be cheerleading Leftovers on as I prepare for the most important role I will ever take on—being a mom!