Sustainability
12.3 is the target that matters
Halving food waste, and cutting the losses along the supply chain.
Target 12.3 of UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 is the single target this organization exists to serve, and it has two limbs that are easy to collapse into one.
The wording is exact: by 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses. The first limb is about shops and households. The second is about everything that happens before a product reaches a shelf, which is where a farm with produce it cannot sell sits. Much food waste campaigning addresses the first limb only.
The scale of the second limb is plain in the Canadian evidence. An estimated 13% of the fruits and vegetables grown in Canada go unharvested or are discarded after harvest, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Losses, not just waste.
The goals
The Neighbour’s Table works to three UN Sustainable Development Goals: 2 on hunger, 12 on responsible consumption and production, and 13 on climate. The sustainability section sets out all three together.
Read sustainability
Our commitment
Target 12.3 is the one we serve directly, and it does not stand alone. The commitment page explains how every yes a farm hands to a food bank serves Goal 2 and Goal 13 at the same time.
Read our commitment
Zero Hunger
Goal 2 commits the world to ending hunger and ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round. 24.0% of people in Canada lived in a food-insecure household in 2025, about 9.8 million people. PROOF, University of Toronto, 2026.
Read goal 2, zero hunger
