Here are a few things we do to minimize our environmental impact.
Source Food as Locally as Possible
At Reimagine we believe in buying locally when we can. Why should we buy locally?
Reduces Your Carbon Footprint
Sourcing produce and groceries locally reduces the need for unneccesary transportation. For example, when we source our leafy greens from Urban Roots, it only takes 8 km of travel to get to our store, rather than hundreds of km. This saves a lot of fuel and pollution. It also saves everyone time and other resources.
Fresh Produce
We get most of our produce from Pfenning's farm, which is local and organic! During the summer season we go even more local and have some great suppliers, such as Urban Roots, Fresh Living Foods, and Green Goddess. Our maple syrup and bakery items are completely local as well! We know exactly where our food comes from, and so we can ensure the produce is fresh!
Support the Local Economy
Rather than buying from Canadian and American conglomerates, buying local ensures that your local economy continues to boom! It's better to put money in the hands of people who are invested and connected to your community, rather than those who have no direct attachment. By supporting the local economy you're encouraging people to continue to invest back into the community.
We Reduce Food Waste
Every year over 35.5 million tonnes of food goes to waste in Canada, and 22% of that waste happens at the farm level. We know exactly where all our produce and food comes from, and how the farms operate to ensure our food is not going to waste.
We Donate Leftover Food
7.5% of Canada's population does not have food security. Yet, we waste millions of tonnes of food each year. A lot of this waste is created by grocery stores and restaurants as they throw away unsold but perfectly edible food, rather than donating it to people in need. We currently donate our food to the London Vegan Food Bank, and Ark Aid Mission.
We even have a bin in store for free items if there is ever something that is going bad quickly! We allow customers to take it for free so they can cook with it immediately so it doesn't go to waste.
If there is food that we cannot donate to humans, we donate it to the Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary so that the animals can eat it. The animals there have often suffered abuse through the meat and dairy industries.
Any food waste that is not fit for consumption by humans or animals is sent to Urban Roots for composting and regenerating into new, organic produce.
We Sell "Ugly" Food
Ugly food is thrown out before it even hits your shelf, ugly food makes up of 40% of total food waste. What is "ugly" food? It's fresh produce that does not look conventional, even though its perfectly edible. Maybe certain parts of the produce is a bit bigger, or small, or deformed. It still taste great, but because it's not what people are used to looking at, it's thrown out as farms and grocery stores believe it won't sell. We avoid wasting food so we sell "ugly" carrots. We sell them at 30% off so when you buy ugly carrots you can feel good about preventing food waste, and save some money!
Let Customers Buy as Little or Much as They Need
The best thing about our store is that you're less likely to waste food. For once you're able to buy anything you need as buy as little or as much as you need. Have you ever bought an ingredient for a specific recipe and then forgotten about it and let it go bad? That's exactly what we're trying to reduce! Buy exactly as much as you need, that way you prevent food from going bad, and get what you want.