Bison Purchased through the Federal Government’s Surplus Food Rescue Program

On August 13, 2020 Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced details of the first-ever federal government program that will provide millions of pounds surplus food to Canada’s most vulnerable populations. The Surplus Food Rescue Program is a $50-million federal initiative designed to address urgent, high volume, highly perishable surplus products.

The surpluses were created because the COVID-19 pandemic largely shut down the restaurant and hospitality industry, leaving many producers without a key market for their food commodities.

The program awarded contributions to eight organizations that leverage existing food redistribution and recovery networks and agencies, who will bring the food to every region in the country.

The Canadian Bison industry would like to thank the federal government for purchasing surplus bison under this program.