Decoding 'Best Before' Dates

Quest volunteer Florence did a little sleuthing and cleared up some misconceptions about best before dates. Read on!

I always find it tricky to decipher the “best before” date on a pre-packaged food item. Does “MA” refer to March or May? Is it the year first or the day first? Is the food safe to eat after the “best before” date?

As long as the food is kept in proper storage conditions, it should still be consumable and not thrown away. The “best before” date is an indicator of freshness, not food safety. Dry products, such as dry pasta and seasonings, are unlikely to support growth of bacteria and can be kept months (a full year, in fact!) after the “best before” date. Even the makers of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise say that their product can be consumed 4 weeks after the “best before” date, provided it has been stored properly.

So don’t throw away food that is completely edible! Every year, 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally and some of that food is perfectly safe to eat, as long as it has been kept in proper storage conditions. By understanding food labels, we can all do our part to minimize food waste!

Quick Facts from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

Best Before Date
•You can buy and eat foods after the “best before” date
•Must appear on pre-packaged foods that will keep fresh for 90 days or less
•Foods that have a shelf life greater than 90 days are not required to have a “best before” date
•Does not guarantee product safety, but gives information on the freshness and potential shelf-life of the unopened food

Expiry Date
•Found on dietary supplements and infant formula
•After the expiry date, the food may not have the same nutrient content indicated on the label and should be discarded

Format
•Year, Month, Day
•Months: JA, FE, MR, AL, MA, JN, JL, AU, SE, OC, NO, DE

To learn more see this CBC article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2009/03/26/f-bestbefore.html

General Operating Grants Received from Sook Ching Foundation and Marin Investments Ltd.

The Quest Food Exchange was recently the recipient of two generous grants for our general operating expenses. The first was from Sook Ching Foundation, who donated $5,000 and the other was from Marin Investments Ltd., who donated $3,500.

"We’re especially grateful for undesignated grants since this allows Quest to put the funds toward the area of most need" said Elizabeth Crudgington, Quest's Executive Director. She continued: "over the course of the year many unforeseen expenses arise and having these funds is a real gift to the organization."

The Sook Ching Foundation is a private foundation located in Vancouver that supports select organizations across Canada with an interest in education and health projects in developing countries. It also supports organizations which feed, educate, counsel, and set up health programs across Canada. Jessica Choo, President of the Sook Ching Foundation stated: "we’re pleased to help Quest with its general operating expenses; they are a proven organization with strong financial stewardship. We are confident that the grant will go in direct support of fulfilling their mission."

Marin Investments is a Canadian, privately-held, investment corporation located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Marin manages a diversified portfolio of assets consisting of private and public equities along with a variety of real estate projects on behalf of its principal owners, the Young family. The company has grown and operated successfully since its incorporation in 1952. Current and previous investment assets have been located throughout North America with a weighting towards western Canada and the west coast of the United States. Marin supports and is interested in pursuing the expansion of existing enterprises, merger and acquisition opportunities, and management buyout activities.

Thank you to both organizations for their continued support!

UBC Land and Food Systems Project for Quest

This is the first post in a series detailing a Community Food System project by six UBC students helping Quest this semester.

Hi! My name is Fion, I am currently in my third year studying Nutritional Science in the faculty of Land and Food Systems at UBC. In my faculty, Land and Food Systems (LFS), we explore topics such as sustainability, food security, and issues relating to the food system both in our community and globally.

In our LFS 350 class, Land, Food, and Community, all of the students are involved in a different Community Food System Project for the term. My group members and I have been fortunate enough to be able to help Quest Food Exchange. This is the first year Quest is participating as a UBC LFS community partner.

We will be trying to help Quest find farms in the Lower Mainland that have an excess of fresh produce that are not marketable and can be donated for use in their programs. Of course, many of you may know that Quest is a not-for-profit organization, so it relies on food donations to run the grocery markets. Currently, Quest receives produce from Fresh Direct, but could always redistribute more. This is why we hope to find donations to increase the variety and quantity available through Quest's programs. With that said, we are also achieving a more sustainable practice because we can reduce the amount of food loss on the farms themselves. As of right now, we are still in the middle of trying to find farms to donate produce. Hopefully we will soon find further food vendor partners for Quest and clients will have even more options in terms of types of vegetables and fruits that they can obtain in the grocery markets.

Another little project that my group members and I are working on is putting up Canada’s Food Guide displays around the grocery market at 2020 Dundas. The purpose of this is to increase the knowledge and understanding of the daily intake of the various food groups. By promoting this idea, we can begin to influence eating habits and help people maintain a healthy diet. This can also be a great shopping experience for people wanting to learn more about the foods that they are consuming.

Stay tuned to see what the students come up with!

Quest's Partnership Appreciation Event 2011

As we've talked about previously, Quest has been fortunate enough to be able to collaborate with Growing Chefs, an amazing not-for-profit aimed at educating children on gardening, cooking, and healthy eating. The partnership between our two organizations seemed to be a natural fit.

On October 13th, 2011, we invited our food vendor and social service agency partners, as well as other stakeholders in the community, to our 2020 Dundas location for our annual Partnership Appreciation event. Last year, we held an Iron Chef competition, but this year, we went with a little bit of a different approach.

For this year’s event, we added an educational component with the help of Growing Chefs. We invited several families who shop at Quest to participate in a workshop on shopping for and cooking with healthy ingredients. Executive Director of Growing Chefs Helen Stortini and her volunteer chefs developed three recipes for this demonstration, based on food we typically stock in our grocery markets. A dietitian from At the Table Nutrition, Colleen McGuire, provided an in-depth nutritional analysis for each of the recipes.

After the participants took a tour of our grocery market with the chefs and dietitian, the workshop was ready to begin. We had set up three stations in our downstairs space; each chef (Helen, Alexander, and Tanya) was designated to a station. Armed with a hot plate and some other basic utensils, the chefs and the families whipped up a salad, a vegetarian entrée, and a dessert option, using local and organic ingredients where possible. Once they were finished, they trooped upstairs to where the other guests were mingling and presented their creations to the crowd. The families were asked about their favourite parts of the workshops. One of the participants, Carlos, age 10, had never tried vegetarian chili before, and loved the version the chefs made that day.

Other features of the event were a video about Quest, and speeches by some of our partners who continue to be very involved with our organization. Speakers included Sue Ross from YVR Airport Authority, Chris Porte from Youth Spot Employment Centre, Jean Robertson from Natural Factors, and Gord Alteman, Vice-President of Quest’s Board of Directors.

We had nothing but positive feedback on the event from both workshop participants and stakeholders. We’d like to thank our event planner, Kristy Masaro, for her help in organizing the logistics of the event, and Bread Garden Catering for providing the delicious hor d’oeuvres.

We hope to provide more workshops such as this in the near future, with the continued assistance and guidance of Growing Chefs.

Quest Video

Check out this video made by our Marketing interns, John-Michael Parra and Julie Petrynko. It includes interviews with agency partners, vendors, financial sponsors, and clients. Let us know what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJdcbBuKcLM

UBC Students Donate to Quest

A few weeks ago, I was asked by Dennis, a lecturer at UBC, to explain to his class a bit about what Quest does. I was honoured to be invited into their classroom. All of his students are part of the Global Academic Internship Program (GAIP) at UBC and are fairly new to Canada. This meant that they were also unfamiliar with some of the social issues that face Canadians. My challenge was to get across the importance of food security and poverty reduction initiatives, specifically in Vancouver.

I couldn’t have asked for a more attentive and engaged group of students. It was nice to see a group of people so inquisitive about the culture and issues of their new country. We even brainstormed ideas in which the students could help fundraise for Quest. We threw around ideas of food drives and monetary donation matching. I was just glad to have piqued their interest on social issues in Canada and perhaps make them think twice about food waste.

This week, I was invited back to the GAIP classroom. The 16 students (pictured above) had raised $125 out of their own pockets, which was then matched by Dennis and Jennifer, Senior Program Leader at UBC, for a grand total of $250! I was so happy to receive the donation on behalf of Quest and so proud of them for taking the time to do this. Their donation will likely go toward paying for our new wheelchair ramp (pictured at right) at the Dundas location. This will facilitate access to our grocery market for our clients who have trouble with their mobility.

Thank you so much to Dennis and the students for their kind donation and for inviting me in to speak!

First West Foundation Funds Purchase of Cooler for Surrey Store

Visitors to the Surrey location of the Quest Food Exchange will have better choices in fresh produce thanks to a $10,000 donation from the First West Foundation that helped Quest purchase a used walk-in cooler and freezer. The addition of this amenity will allow Quest to collect and store more perishable items on site, so that donations last longer and our clients will benefit from having fresher items to choose from.

Johanne Larochelle, manager of the Surrey food market says “the walk-in cooler has allowed us to reduce the amount of perishable items we have to compost because fruits and vegetables can be stored in the cooler until the shelves need to be restocked. She also adds, “our customers have noticed the increased selection and comment on the freshness of the produce.”

Quest was pleased to have the opportunity to show representatives from the First West Foundation the walk-in cooler and freezer in August.

Executive Director, Seline Kutan makes a point of visiting the projects that the Foundation provides funding to. “Right now it’s manageable to visit our donees. It’s a great opportunity to see first hand where the Foundation’s money goes and to get to meet the individuals involved in running these successful organizations.”

Ms. Kutan was joined by board members Lois Wilkinson and Peter Podovinikoff who were both impressed by Quest’s food exchange model, which not only addresses reducing hunger with dignity, but also offers important volunteer opportunities while fostering environmental sustainability. “Quest fits perfectly within our funding mandate to provide much-needed support to community organizations that are working diligently to lend a helping hand to people living in our communities”, states Mr. Podovinikoff.

The First West Foundation (previously named Envision Credit Union Charitable Foundation) was established in 1996 by the management and Board of Directors of First West Credit Union. Its purpose is to support initiatives that enhance the quality of life in our communities and to create capital for sustainable community support by encouraging philanthropy. Since inception, the Foundation has proudly distributed over $1.6 million in grants to charities.

For more information about the Envision Credit Union or the First West Foundation visit their websites at www.envisionfinancial.ca or http://firstwestfoundation.ca respectively.