Edmonton Convention Centre (formerly the Shaw Conference Centre) in Alberta, Canada, is one of North America’s top performing convention centres. It hosts over half a million guests annually and generates more than $30 million in economic impact.
The culinary offering is a big part of the venue’s appeal, and between Edmonton’s two convention centres (Edmonton Convention Centre and Edmonton EXPO Centre), in excess of one million meals are produced every year.
As far back as 2008, ECC was the first local organisation to join the “Second Helping” program, working with Edmonton Food Bank and Alberta Health Services to collect surplus prepared but unplated food, to freeze it and to distribute it to individuals struggling with food security and poverty. In 2018 alone, Edmonton Convention Centre donated more than 4,000 pounds of food which equates to around 5,500 meals.
Edmonton Convention Centre (formerly the Shaw Conference Centre) and “Second Helping”.
Edmonton Convention Centre has now produced a case study. This shows how the scheme aligns with provincial and district legislation, involves all stakeholders in the donation chain, and has also included capital investment in the required transportation and storage of the food.
Edmonton Convention Centre Executive Chef Serge Belair.
