Fight Food Insecurity with Second Harvest and ECHOage Birthdays

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You can fight food waste with Second Harvest and ECHOage birthdays by inviting guests to support both a great group gift and Canada’s largest food rescue charity. Second Harvest redirects surplus edible food from grocery stores, restaurants, farms, and other food businesses through the Second Harvest Food Rescue app and redistribution network to feed people, reduce food loss, and cut pounds of greenhouse gases and water waste with every dollar donated.

What is Second Harvest and how does it fight food waste?

Second Harvest is Canada’s largest food rescue organization, a global thought leader on perishable food redistribution and food waste solutions. Founded in 1985 by Ina Andre and Joan Clayton in Toronto, it’s grown into a national force in hunger relief, working to keep edible food on plates and not in landfills. Their mission is simple: reduce food loss, rescue surplus food, and send it to communities in need.

In 2024, they rescued over 87.1 million pounds of edible food, nutrientdense produce, baked goods, dairy, meats, and prepared meals from more than 7,500 generous businesses and nonprofits. Their efforts also prevented 288 million pounds of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, and prevented 59.3 billion litres of water from being wasted.

What services does Second Harvest provide to food businesses and communities?

At its core is the Second Harvest Food Rescue App, a platform that connects: food businesses, grocery stores, restaurants and farms with charities and food banks in real time. Donors post surplus food; nonprofits claim and pick it up. This builds a supply chain that diverts edible food into the hands of communities, reducing waste and supporting hunger relief.

They are also committed to research and advocacy. Their groundbreaking report The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste surfaced that 58% of all food produced in Canada is lost or wasted, over 11 million tonnes that could feed people. Second Harvest pushes for policy changes, like better grading systems and clearer bestbefore labels, to reduce systemic food loss.

They also deliver training and education programs, and collaborate with nonprofits like Harvest Kitchens and Feeding Our Future, turning rescued ingredients into nutritious meals for children, seniors, and communities across Canada.

How can you support Second Harvest through ECHOage?

When you plan a birthday using ECHOage, you can choose Second Harvest as the charity of choice. Each guest can make donations online; half goes toward a group gift your child wants, and half is donated for rescued food and hunger relief. It’s a smart blend of celebration and giving, helping fight food waste, hunger, and greenhouse gases while still giving your child something special.

Why is teaching kids to give back at birthdays so powerful?

A birthday is your child’s day. But when giving is part of the celebration, when they see their party can rescue good food, feed families, curb food waste, and help reduce environmental harm, it becomes about more than themselves.

They learn that surplus food has value, that food waste fuels climate change through greenhouse gas emissions, and that they can be part of a solution. It’s practical, it’s kind, and it plants seeds for lifelong habits around generosity, food respect, and environmental protection.

What difference can your ECHOage party make?

Your party can fuel real impact. Across the country, billions of pounds of good food go to waste each year, even as millions face hunger. By supporting Second Harvest, every dollar donated helps rescue edible food, deliver meals, reduce food loss in the supply chain, and shrink greenhouse gas emissions and water waste.

Collectively, families using ECHOage help build greener, more equitable communities. Your party becomes part of that collective impact.

How to launch your ECHOage party for Second Harvest

It’s easy. Visit ECHOage, set up your child’s party, pick Second Harvest as your charity, and share the vision with your guests. The platform handles invites and contributions.

Afterward, you’ll know your celebration has helped rescue food, reduce greenhouse gases, and provide meals to people in need, all with no extra work on your part.

Start giving with your ECHOage Party

When you fight food waste with Second Harvest and ECHOage birthdays, you help redirect surplus from food businesses into good food for people, reduce wasted food in landfills, curb greenhouse gases, and nurture generations who value community and environment. Your child’s birthday doesn’t just invite joy, it sparks real change.

Start your ECHOage party today, choose Second Harvest, and let the celebration feed bodies, hearts, and the planet.