Empire's family of brands partners with Second Harvest with the goal of diverting 31 million pounds of food and approximately 41 million kilograms of GHG emissions annually

STELLARTON, Nova Scotia, April 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Empire and Second Harvest have formed a national partnership to implement the Second Harvest Food Rescue App at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, and Voilà. Second Harvest's food rescue app will enable Empire's banners to divert food waste and offer even more access to fresh, healthy food to Canadian families in need.

"The number of Canadians experiencing food insecurity has significantly increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for access to healthy food has never been greater," said Lori Nikkel, Chief Executive Officer, Second Harvest. "Our food rescue app enables businesses with surplus perishable food to quickly and easily connect with non-profits who serve people in need. This partnership will support our communities most vulnerable and reduce food waste. We are proud to partner with Empire to further our shared mission to reduce the harmful environmental impacts of food waste and support local communities across Canada through this terrible health crisis."

Empire plans to implement the app in its grocery banners over the next 18 months, including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo and Thrifty Foods. Empire will use the app in its distribution centres and its e-commerce business. Once operational in all of these locations, Empire expects to rescue an estimated 31 million pounds of food, and thereby avert approximately 41 million kilograms of GHG emissions annually ? the equivalent of taking more than 8,600 cars off the road.

"More than half of the food produced in Canada goes to waste, and yet one in seven Canadian families struggles with food insecurity. As Canada's second largest national grocer, we have the reach and the responsibility to redirect this food into the communities who need it most," said Mohit Grover, Senior Vice-President of Innovation and Strategy, Empire. "This partnership with Second Harvest is a significant step towards achieving our goal to reduce our food waste by 50 per cent by 2025."

Second Harvest and Empire have been partners in the Greater Toronto Area since 2011, and recently completed a 12-week pilot of the food rescue program in 16 stores in Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia. The results of the pilot were very promising: more than 94,000 meals were donated to more than 30 community organizations, averting more than 110,000 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This document contains forward-looking statements which are presented for the purpose of assisting the reader to contextualize the Company's financial position and understand management's expectations regarding the Company's strategic priorities, objectives and plans. These forward-looking statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are identified by words or phrases such as "anticipates", "expects", "believes", "estimates", "intends", "could", "may", "plans", "predicts", "projects", "will", "would", "hopes" and other similar expressions or the negative of these terms.

These statements include those relating to: (i) the amount of food rescued which may be impacted by COVID-19, food available for the partnership, the continued functioning of the Second Harvest Food Rescue website and Mobile app, and economic conditions; (ii) amount of GHG emissions annually averted which will be impacted by how much food is rescued and; (iii) the impact of this partnership on achieving Empire's food waste goal, which may be impacted by COVID-19, the amount of food rescued, the customer response, and economic conditions.

By its nature, forward-looking information requires the Company to make assumptions and is subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from forward looking statements made. For more information on risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may impact the Company's forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the "Risk Management" section of the fiscal 2020 annual MD&A.

Although the Company believes the predictions, forecasts, expectations or conclusions reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, it can provide no assurance that such matters will prove correct. Readers are urged to consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information in this document reflects the Company's current expectations and is subject to change. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made by or on behalf of the Company other than as required by applicable securities laws.

About Second Harvest

Second Harvest is the largest food rescue organization in Canada and a global thought leader in food recovery. Working across the supply chain ? from farm to retail ? we capture surplus perishable food before it ends up in landfill negatively impacting our environment. The Second Harvest Food Rescue App connects businesses with surplus food to local non-profits, ensuring good food gets to people. With the global pandemic, Second Harvest is leading the Food Rescue Canadian Alliance (FRCA), bringing together government, industry, Indigenous communities, and the non-profit sector to ensure food reaches the most vulnerable members of our communities, from coast to coast to coast. Learn more at https://secondharvest.ca/.

About Empire

Empire Company Limited (TSX: EMP.A) is a Canadian company headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Empire's key businesses are food retailing, through wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc., and related real estate. With approximately $28.4 billion in annual sales and $15.0 billion in assets, Empire and its subsidiaries, franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 127,000 people.

Media Contacts

Second Harvest
Ashley Herod
Director of Marketing and Communications
[email protected] 
416-625-6773

Sobeys Inc.
Karen White-Boswell
Director, External Communications
[email protected] 
416-779-2319