Square Roots

Enactus Saint Mary’s University

According to a report released by Second Harvest, 60% of food produced in Canada is wasted annually. From that 36 million tonnes of food, it is estimated that 32% is edible and could be redirected to support people in communities across the country. The potential cost savings on that rescued food alone is valued at almost 50 billion dollars a year.

Created by Enactus Saint Mary’s in 2016 to tackle food waste on farms in Nova Scotia, Square Roots Bundles is their biggest community program. Students work in conjunction with local farmers to tackle both food insecurity and food waste by taking perfectly edible produce that does not meet grocery store standards and giving back to their community.

Each one of their 10 locations sources ‘seconds’ produce from farms and sells them in 10-pound bundles for just $10, or $7.50 if a customer cannot afford the regular price, no questions asked.

The program employs over 15 community members and has fed over 45,000 people this year.

To further tackle the issue of food waste in their community, the team from Enactus Saint Mary’s created Square Roots Products. This initiative focuses on finding innovative ways to reuse and reduce food waste by collaborating with local businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs to create sustainable and eco-friendly products for their community. Their first product is a matcha lotion bar.