The Central Okanagan Food Bank is launching a $5.5 million capital campaign to transform an 11,000-square-foot warehouse in Kelowna into a ‘Food Rescue Transformation Centre’ aimed at reducing both food waste and food insecurity.

“Our feasibility studies are showing that there are two million pounds out there right now that’s going into the land, falling off trees,” said Trevor Moss, executive director of the Central Okanagan Food Bank (COFB).

The initiative comes as food banks report rising demand across the region, while millions of pounds of nutritious food continue to go unused each year due to oversupply, grading standards and cosmetic imperfections that make produce difficult to sell.