The executive chef at Lionhearts Inc. said the charity will be picking up extra food from games every day throughout the tournament.
The World Juniors have taken over the city and a lot of hockey games means a lot of uneaten food. To avoid waste, Hockey Canada and Ottawa Tourism have teamed up to create an “event food recovery program,” with local groups redistributing the food to shelters, soup kitchens, supportive housing and community health centres.
Stephen La Salle, the executive chef at Lionhearts Inc., which works to collect food donations and redistribute them, said the charity will pick up extra food from games every day throughout the tournament. So far, the group has already collected about 1,000 meals, distributing the excess food to four community groups, including the Partage Vanier Food Bank.
“This whole tournament is going to help create all these opportunities for all this food to be recovered,” La Salle said, adding that Lionhearts has partnered with the Canadian Tire Centre, TD Place and the Brookstreet Hotel. “It’s going to be thousands of pounds of food that’s going straight to frontline organizations.”
In May, Ottawa Tourism announced a “groundbreaking partnership” with La Tablée des Chefs, which recovers surplus food for redistribution. Through the agreement, called “Ottawa’s Destination Stewardship Plan,” La Tablée des Chefs has expanded its food recovery efforts to the region, with food collected in the area being redistributed to the Ottawa Mission, Moisson Outaouais, Lionhearts and Shepherds of Good Hope.
During the hockey tournament, Peter Gareau, the food services manager at the Shepherds of Good Hope, said the homeless service will collect food donations from the Delta Hotel to use in its operations. He said the idea came about when the hotel’s chef mentioned that many of the teams participating in the Juniors would be staying with them.
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“This is the first time that we’ve done something like this, but it’s just a nice opportunity to get the word out there, we’re looking to sign up more hotels,” said Gareau. “Can you imagine if 75 to 80 per cent of all the food we’re using is coming from outside sources and it’s quality stuff that normally just goes in the garbage?
“When you do a banquet for 700 or 800 people, there’s a lot of leftovers. Every time it provides a meal for us, that’s like $400 saved.”
Gareau said the organization expects to receive about 1,800 portions of food during the tournament, though there could be lots more, adding that it will be redoing its menu to accommodate what comes in.
“Every dollar that we save I can go into a program that’s needed,” Gareau said, adding that he hopes to promote the program in order for it to become a year-long thing. “Anywhere we can stretch a dollar or get a donation, I’m willing to do it.”
Jeremy Knight, a spokesperson for Hockey Canada, said it’s “proud” to partner with Ottawa Tourism on the initiative and “ensure that food surplus from the tournament does not go to waste, and instead supports those in need throughout the event.”
Even once the hockey tournament is over, La Salle said the Ottawa Tourism food recovery program will continue for other events.
“What’s been really phenomenal about this program is not just the stats of the amount of food but how these items (are) actually getting to real people that are food insecure,” La Salle said, adding that Lionhearts has a donation booth at the 2025 World Juniors Fan Fest where people can donate non-perishable food and hygiene items, used sporting equipment and electronic waste. “What would have been a really quiet week, it’s given us something really fun and impactful to do.”
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