A Quebec City restaurant's initiative to offer leftovers from customers' plates to people otherwise going hungry has prompted a visit by provincial food safety inspectors.

Soupe & Cie, a restaurant in the provincial capital's Limoilou neighbourhood, set up a refrigerator outside the establishment in December.

Restaurant owner François Bouchard and his staff have been inviting customers to put their uneaten portions in containers the restaurant provides and place them in the fridge for whoever wants them.

"The people who dare to go into the refrigerator: first, they are very hungry. If they are at that point, it's like eating out of the garbage, essentially," he said.

Bouchard, whose restaurant sells a variety of soups, tacos and tartares, said the majority of his customers do not finish their meal.

The restaurant serves soups, tacos and tartares. The majority of customers don't finish their food, owner François Bouchard says. (Radio-Canada.)

Surprise visit from MAPAQ

The practice led to an anonymous complaint to the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ), which sent food inspectors to Soupe & Cie last Monday.

Soupe & Cie owner François Bouchard says the people who take food from his outdoor fridge are truly hungry. (Radio-Canada.)

The ministry had said that while there is no permit required nor specific regulations surrounding food donations, donors still need to take the necessary steps to make sure they are not putting people's health at risk.

After an investigation, the ministry told the restaurant on Wednesday that the fridge could stay.

"MAPAQ supports initiatives to curb food waste and is following this growing community movement with interest," wrote spokesperson Yohan Dallaire Boily.

Food is fine, says owner

"Who would complain about this?" asked Bouchard. "I don't understand that."

He said originally, food inspectors might have been concerned that customers could contaminate their uneaten leftovers with viruses, such as those that cause gastroenteritis.

However, he argues, viruses can be anywhere.

"You can catch a virus on a doorknob. You can catch it on money," he said. He acknowledged he personally wouldn't eat leftovers from the fridge, "but if I were really hungry, I might need to take the risk one day."

Bouchard says clients are already asked to put a date on their closed containers before dropping off the donation.

Beyond that, he said, he would be prepared to put up a sign warning people to eat at their own risk.

Staff at Soupe & Cie provide containers for customers to put their leftovers in. (Radio-Canada)

Food-sharing fridges on the rise

Food-sharing fridges have also been popping up in Montreal. After a resident put one out in Rosemont, a larger-scale initiative called BonApp began placing drop-off points around the city, inviting people to bring by their unpeeled fruits and vegetables and unopened packaged food. BonApp feeds on zero waste movement with community fridge network

As for Soupe & Cie's fridge, Bouchard says it's been popular since the day it was set outside.

"We even had a woman go so far as to come inside the restaurant and hug us, to thank us for doing this. She told us she had eaten until she was full," he said.

Jimmy Bolduc has been turning to the refrigerator for food on a regular basis.

"Over Christmas time, there was a ton of stuff in there," he said. "It really helps a lot. Leftover soup and all that, it's not gross."