Empire expands partnership with anti-food waste app FoodHero beyond Quebec

Empire Company Limited announces its Olympic Partnership at its Sobey's office in Mississauga, Ont. on October 7, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin)

Canadian grocery company Empire is expanding its partnership with a Montreal-based app dedicated to mitigating food waste.

FoodHero announced Tuesday that the partnership is significantly expanding to new regions, including Ontario, Atlantic Canada and Western Canada. 

The company says in a press release that shoppers will be able to access "deep discounts" on surplus food at more than 500 stores across those regions.

FoodHero says its app connects shoppers to stores offering 60-per-cent discounts in Quebec and 50-per-cent discounts in the rest of Canada.

The app launched in Quebec in 2019, and currently has 100,000 active customers at about 500 retailers in the province. 

FoodHero says items available on the app include bakery, meat, prepared foods and dry goods. 

Since the beginning of July, FoodHero has been rolling out at stores across Canada in phases, beginning with participating Sobeys stores in Ontario on July 2. 

On July 8, Sobeys and Foodland stores in Atlantic Canada joined in, and on Monday, so did Sobeys, Safeway, IGA West and Thrifty Foods in Western Canada. 

FoodHero isn't the only app looking to connect Canadian consumers with food that might otherwise go to waste, with Too Good To Go and Flashfood already here. 

Shoppers are increasingly turning to discount stores and looking for sales and promotions to try and save money on their grocery bills after prices have risen more than 20 per cent in just a few years.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2024.