Challange

Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization, plays a critical role in recovering surplus food and distributing it to more than 1,000 community agencies across the country. Supported by targeted nonprofit training, the organization has enhanced its operational effectiveness and volunteer engagement. In just one year, Second Harvest successfully diverted over 15 million pounds of edible food away from landfills and into the hands of individuals facing food insecurity.

However, a landmark study commissioned by Second Harvest, The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste, uncovered a troubling insight: over 35 million metric tons of food are wasted in Canada annually, and a significant portion of that waste stems from simple yet costly misunderstandings. The root causes included confusion around expiration dates, limited knowledge of food safety, and inconsistent communication with volunteers tasked with food handling.

To address this knowledge gap, Second Harvest required a health and safety training program that could provide accurate, accessible food safety education to a dispersed and diverse volunteer base, without relying on time-intensive, in-person sessions.

Solution

To meet this challenge, Second Harvest partnered with TrainingFolks, a trusted leader among eLearning development companies. The objective: to design and deliver a custom, mobile-accessible, food safety training program in eLearning modules that would provide essential food safety knowledge in a format that was both engaging and easy to digest.

Working in close collaboration with subject matter experts at Second Harvest, TrainingFolks developed a series of three interactive courses that were:

• Story-driven, featuring real-life scenarios such as the journey of a tomato from farm to table—helping volunteers understand the lifecycle and value of food.
• Technically robust, built using Articulate Storyline 360 and integrated seamlessly with Second Harvest’s Moodle learning management system (LMS).
• Optimized for retention, with each course lasting under 20 minutes and designed to hold attention through visuals, video, and hands-on activities.

The course content focused on the most pressing knowledge gaps, including:

• How to correctly interpret Best Before and expiration dates.
• When food should be preserved vs. discarded based on safety guidelines.
• Core principles of health and safety training relevant to food handling and distribution.
  
  

Results

TrainingFolks successfully delivered all three food safety training modules on schedule, ensuring they were fully customized,aligned with learning objectives, and ready for immediate deployment.

Since implementation:

• Thousands of Second Harvest volunteers now receive standardized, high-quality training,regardless of location or experience level. View these training modules here.
• The courses are fully embedded within the organization’s existing eLearning infrastructure, enabling easy access and long-term use.
• Volunteers are now better equipped to make informed decisions, reducing unnecessary food waste and supporting the organization’s mission more effectively.
  
  

This initiative has empowered Second Harvest to strengthen its food safety culture, improve volunteer confidence, and maximize the impact of every pound of food recovered.