Feed It Forward

What Feed It Forward does

Feed It Forward is a Toronto-based registered not-for-profit social enterprise founded in 2014 by Chef Jagger Gordon. Its mission is to redirect surplus edible food away from landfills and to make that food accessible to Canadians experiencing food insecurity, particularly across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The organization rescues unused and unsold food from a diversified base of donors including grocery chains (Whole Foods Market, Farm Boy, Shoppers Drug Mart), foodservice operators (Starbucks), bakeries (Petite Thuet, Cobbs, Harbord), institutional partners (MLSE, Humber College), and farms (Greenwood Farm), and redistributes it through multiple parallel channels.

The operational footprint spans a fleet of 33 food rescue and distribution vehicles; the Blazing Kitchen production facility in Toronto; the Confederation Freezer storage facility in Brampton (holding tens of thousands of prepared meals); a 200-acre farm in Whitby, Ontario supplying fresh produce; Canada's first Pay-What-You-Can Grocery Store, bakery and coffee shop in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood (open since June 2018); SoupBar locations at Market 707 (Scadding Court Community Centre), the on-campus Humber College restaurant, and a March 2024 location at 766 St. Clair Ave W.; and a network of Community Fridges hosted by partner businesses. The Feed It Forward Free Food App, launched on Google Play and Apple App Store, provides peer-to-peer food sharing with a pinging map of available portions, pickup windows, dietary and distance filtering, and a carbon footprint calculator that estimates emissions avoided when food is diverted from landfill.

Feed It Forward is funded through individual and corporate monetary donations, in-kind food contributions, and Pay-What-You-Can / token-pool customer payments (1 point = 50 cents) at the grocery store, with no one turned away for inability to pay. The organization reports cumulative operational metrics of 5,810,450 meals served, 7,600,000 lbs of food diverted from landfills, and 9,047,897 bellies filled, alongside daily rescue volumes of over 12,000 lbs and a partnership with MLSE delivering approximately 3,000 meals weekly. Volunteer labour underpins the operating model, with paid staff held to 1–10 employees. The organization is independently governed (no parent company, no disclosed equity funding) and is pursuing registered charitable status.

Name

Feed It Forward

Legal name

Feed It Forward

Website

https://feeditforward.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Feed It Forward is a Toronto-based nonprofit founded in 2014 that rescues surplus food from restaurants, grocers, and farms and redistributes it to food-insecure Canadians through a Pay-What-You-Can grocery store, SoupBars, Community Fridges, a mobile app, and a 33-vehicle distribution fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Rescue and Redistribution Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food Services (624210), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Food Stores (5400), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Food rescue services
• Surplus food redistribution
• Pay-what-you-can grocery
• Community food programs
• Food insecurity solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Pay-What-You-Can Donations: Customers pay what they can afford for food items at the grocery store, with point-based system (1 point = 50 cents). Customers can also take food free of charge.
2. Monetary Donations: Direct cash donations from individuals and organizations to support general operations, covering costs for equipment, food preparation, transport, processing, and delivery
3. Token Pool System: Cash and in-kind donations go into a token pool that supports operations. Customers can donate tokens to enable others to take food free of charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Feed It Forward rescues surplus food from restaurants, grocery stores, farms, and food manufacturers across the Greater Toronto Area and redistributes it to food-insecure individuals and families. It operates multiple distribution channels including Canada's first Pay-What-You-Can Grocery Store, SoupBar restaurants, Community Fridges, a Free Food mobile app, and direct delivery through a 33-vehicle fleet and Blazing Kitchen production facility.

Product overview

Feed It Forward is a non-profit food rescue organization operating a portfolio of programs to address food waste and food insecurity in Canada. The core offering includes a Free Food App for community food sharing with map-based discovery and carbon footprint tracking; a Pay-What-You-Can Grocery Store, Bakery & Cafe (Canada's first, since June 2018) operating on a point-based donation model; and SoupBar locations serving pay-what-you-can meals. Supporting programs include the Feed It Forward Farm (200 acres in Whitby), Community Fridges, Humber College Soup Bar, culinary training programs, Blazing Kitchen production facility, and a fleet of 33 vehicles with freezer storage capacity. The app and physical locations work together: the app connects food donors and recipients while physical locations provide permanent infrastructure for food distribution and community engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pay-What-You-Can Grocery Store, Bakery & Cafe Canada's first and only Pay-What-You-Can Grocery Store, bakery and coffee shop, operating since June 2018. Customers pay what they can afford based on their budget or take food free of charge. Operates on a point system where 1 point = $0.50 and accepts both cash and credit. Food is rescued from local farms and businesses and sorted by volunteers.
• Feed It Forward Free Food App A mobile application available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store that enables users to share surplus food with others in their community. Users upload food listings with photos, descriptions, type, quantity, and pickup details. Features a pinging map showing available food locations and pickup times, filtering options for dietary restrictions and travel distance, and a carbon footprint calculator that estimates emissions saved from diverting food from landfills.
• SoupBar A pay-what-you-can restaurant concept offering rotating soups, stews, and chilis crafted from rescued surplus ingredients. Patrons contribute what they can toward meals with suggested donation amounts. Also serves as a hub for community education on food waste reduction and culinary classes.
• Humber College Soup Bar A pay-what-you-can concept restaurant at university campuses in Toronto. On-campus restaurant offering students healthy, bottomless soup two days a week. Addresses food insecurity among Canadian post-secondary students (approximately 40% are food insecure). Served nearly 9,000 meals in its pilot year.
• Community Fridges Community refrigerators placed at partnering businesses throughout Toronto. Contain FREE food available to anyone who needs it. Items in fridges change frequently based on donations.
• Feed It Forward Farm A 200-acre farm located in Whitby, Ontario where volunteers plant, grow, maintain, and harvest fresh produce. Produce is distributed through the PWYC Grocery Store. Farm also serves as a teaching opportunity for sustainability education. Additionally provides plant clones for food-insecure individuals to grow food on their own.
• Feed Families Freezer Program Initial freezer program where Feed It Forward placed a freezer at a Toronto church, connected with families in need, and stocked it with daily meals for eight families at a time using rescued food. Delivered over 12,000 meals in its first year.
• Culinary Training Programs Training programs and workshops that empower individuals with cooking skills and provide employment opportunities in the food industry. Part of the organization's emphasis on food education and community engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,810,450 meals served
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Whole Foods MarketcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor grocery retailer providing rescued food to Feed It Forward operations
• Second Harvest Food RescuecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood rescue organization partner providing surplus food for redistribution
• StarbuckscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoffee chain donating unused food to Feed It Forward
• Shoppers Drug MartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetail pharmacy providing surplus food items
• Petite ThuetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBakery donating bread and pastries to Feed It Forward
• Farm BoycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrocery retailer providing rescued food
• Cobbs BakerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBakery contributing bread and baked goods
• Harbord BakerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBakery donating bread products
• Humber CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner hosting the Humber College Soup Bar concept restaurant offering students free soup two days a week
• Greenwood FarmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarm providing 200 acres of farmland in Whitby, Ontario for Feed It Forward to plant, grow, and harvest fresh produce
• Blazing KitchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperational center of all Feed It Forward food production
• Tibetan Canadian Community Cultural CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUsed for Food Hamper storage and meal preparations and distributions
• MLSEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSports and entertainment company providing rescued meals for redistribution, delivering approximately 3000 meals weekly
• Confederation FreezerminorOthersStorage facility in Brampton holding tens of thousands of Feed It Forward meals
• Scadding Court Community Centre / Market 707coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity center hosting the original Soup Bar location in a shipping container at Market 707

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Daily Bread Food Bank: Toronto-based food bank serving food-insecure individuals and families through member agencies. Closest direct peer in terms of serving GTA food-insecure populations, though Feed It Forward's PWYC retail and food-rescue model differs from a traditional food bank distribution model.
• The Stop Community Food Centre: Toronto community food centre offering food programs, community kitchens, and food-rescue-adjacent services. Comparable integrated approach combining food access, education, and community engagement in the GTA.
• City Harvest (New York): NYC's largest food rescue organization, feeding food-insecure New Yorkers through rescued surplus food. Highly comparable operational model — fleet-based food rescue and redistribution — though operating in a different geography.
• 412 Food Rescue: US-based food rescue nonprofit using technology to redirect surplus food to communities facing food insecurity. Closest comparable by virtue of combining a tech-enabled food-rescue platform with on-the-ground distribution, mirroring Feed It Forward's app-plus-fleet approach.
• Second Harvest Food Rescue: Canada's largest food rescue organization, operating in the Greater Toronto Area. Directly comparable as a food-rescue nonprofit serving the same geography, even though Feed It Forward lists Second Harvest as a donor partner — both rescue surplus food and redistribute it to community agencies.
• Too Good To Go: Global app-based marketplace that connects consumers with surplus meals from restaurants and retailers. Highly comparable technology/business model to Feed It Forward's Free Food App, though Too Good To Go is a for-profit social impact company operating across Europe and North America.
• FoodForward South Africa: South African food rescue and redistribution non-profit using a fleet and volunteer model to redirect surplus food. Comparable mission, operational structure, and use of technology to coordinate food rescue at scale.
• Foodshare Toronto: Toronto non-profit focused on food justice, community food programs, and addressing food insecurity through community-led initiatives. Comparable mission (food insecurity + community engagement) and GTA geography.
• Olio: UK-based sharing app that lets users share surplus food and other items locally. Direct comparable to the Feed It Forward Free Food App in terms of peer-to-peer food-sharing functionality and carbon-footprint tracking features.
• Food Banks Canada: National umbrella organization representing the Canadian food bank network. Comparable as a coordinator of food-rescue and food-assistance activity at scale across Canada, though operating through an affiliate model rather than directly running retail/distribution.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/feedthefuture.ca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/feed-it-forward

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Feed It Forward