With 365 days in the books and nearly 62,000 pounds of food saved from the landfill, a High River program is celebrating its one year anniversary.

The Hgh River Food Rescue collect products from local grocery stores, businesses, restaurants and events destined for the trash to give out for free at their market located at #55, 8th Avenue SE in High River.

These include products like milk, yogurt, fresh produce, meat and eggs which may have some minor damage, be in excess or nearing the expiration date.

They're run by Wild Rose Community Connections through their food security initiative, which includes ten other programs with a goal of reducing food insecurity, educating and bringing awareness to food related issues, and developing a consciousness around food waste and the environmental impact.

Program Coordinator, Sarah Bruinsma, says the Food Rescue has exceeded all their expectations.

"We have 25 businesses that support us, we've done over 100 markets now and over 4000 people have been able to access free food in which we don't take any identifying information."

To start the Food Rescue, she says they were given funding to implement a food security initiative, and the food rescue idea came from another community which they knew would be a perfect fit for High River.

Bruinsma says over 40 per cent of food produced in Canada ends up in the landfill.

"The [food] system isn't sustainable. I think it's something that we all need to pay attention to because there are simple ways that we can all make a difference."

Looking ahead to another year, she says they're expecting to see continued growth in the program.

The market is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., except for the second Thursday of every month where it is open from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Send us your news tips, story ideas and comments at [email protected]