The app helps Calgarians navigate the high cost of food

Many Calgarians are finding ways to trim their grocery bills and reduce food waste by using apps, including some that focus on odd-looking fruits and vegetables.

Peco is a food recovery program that recently began serving Calgary, offering mystery bags of “special” and surplus foods at up to 40 percent off retail price.

“It's delivered to your home and it's very effective and the marketing of these unique vegetables really caught my eye,” said Mount Royal University student Caitlin Zorn.

Crooked cucumbers, three-cornered carrots or moldy bananas are just some examples of products that do not meet grocery store standards and are not accepted by supermarkets.

Peko started in Vancouver in 2021 with two university students to fight food waste.

“There's no market for junk food and excess fruit, so they're often thrown away, and that's how the collection came about,” said Sang Le, one of the two students who founded Peko in Vancouver in 2021.

Peco is a food recovery program that recently began serving Calgary, offering mystery bags of “special” and surplus foods at up to 40 percent off retail price.

These “imperfect” items are perfectly edible and can be sold at a discount to bulk buyers.

“On the lowest week, we see at least 10 percent savings,” he said, “and on the highest weeks, we sometimes exceed 40.

CONCEPT TREND

According to Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analysis Laboratory, Canadians are spending less at grocery stores, but the data shows a worrying trend.

“I don't think Canadians are buying less, they're spending less,” explained Sylvain Charlebois of the lab.

“Unfortunately, they can focus on calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods.”

About 18 percent of all retail dollars are spent on food, compared to 21 percent in 2017, a trend that seems to be blamed not only on food inflation, but also the higher overall cost of living.

Charlebois says that when rents and debt payments rise, the easiest adjustment in one's budget is often to “cut back on groceries.”

“This is a struggle for many Canadians,” he said, “especially in the last two months.”

He said based on Canada's Food Price Report 2024, the amount of money needed to support a healthy diet is $339 a month, but the average Canadian spends about $248.

By July 2021, Canadians on average spent more than their desired budget on healthy eating, but since then it appears to have been difficult.

The high cost of living was a driving factor for Zorn to try Peko.

“Food was very expensive,” he said.

He says he gets $30 worth of produce a week, when he spends up to twice as much on fruits and vegetables each week.

A lot of the stuff looks like something you'd find at a grocery store because it's overstocked, but Zorn likes to find things that aren't “perfect.”

“We get bell peppers that look special, and some bananas are already brown, but they're easy to pop in the freezer and grab for smoothies or muffins.”

She says the mystery box element inspired the kitchen as well.

“I open my Peko box every week, usually on FaceTime with my mom, and we're going to have a hard time coming up with recipes on the spot to see what we can do with the food we're given. it's usually really fun,” he said.

She learned how to make daikon soup and how to cut a whole pineapple.

Zorn is also happy that the solution has helped reduce food waste.

Peko's creators say it has diverted more than 136,000 kg of food from going to landfill, saving consumers nearly $1 million on their grocery bills.

The company was recently acquired by FreshPrep, but continues to operate as Peko and now also offers secret boxes, including warehouses and produce.

According to Charlebois, about half of Canadians use food rescue apps.