Vancouver Social Innovator Transforms Food Waste into Community Nourishment
Jessica Regan, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur and social changemaker, has dedicated her career to addressing systemic inequities through innovative business solutions. As co-founder and CEO of FoodMesh, she has created a groundbreaking network that tackles one of society's most pressing paradoxes: massive food waste alongside growing food insecurity.
From Obsession to Action
Regan's journey began with a disturbing realization when she encountered photographs of perfectly edible produce destined for landfills. "Food waste is a problem that I became obsessed with," Regan explains. "As an innovator, you don't always need a degree in the solution—you need to be obsessed with the problem. And food waste is one of those problems that affects every human on a visceral level."
This obsession transformed into action when she launched FoodMesh in 2016, establishing a platform designed specifically to give food a second chance. With over a dozen years of experience consulting in community economic development and sustainability for Fortune 500 corporations, startups, nonprofits, and various government levels including the United Nations, Regan brought substantial expertise to her mission.
The FoodMesh Solution
FoodMesh functions as a sophisticated matchmaker within Canada's food system, creating a sharing network that connects organizations with surplus food to those experiencing shortages, primarily nonprofit organizations. Today, this innovative network includes over 2,500 organizations spanning the entire food supply chain.
The impact has been substantial. FoodMesh collectively rescues the equivalent of one million meals each month through its coordinated efforts. "When I started this project, one in eight Canadians was food insecure, and now it's trending toward one in four," Regan notes with concern. "It's tracking in the wrong direction, and yet we continue to waste."
Alarming StatisticsFoodMesh reports reveal that 47 percent of all food produced in Canada is never consumed. While 85 percent of that waste occurs along the supply chain, nearly half of it is considered avoidable. "As I dug into the problem, I realized we don't actually have a food shortage problem," Regan clarifies. "We waste almost half the food we grow in Canada."
A Career Dedicated to Social Change
Regan's commitment to using business as a vehicle for social transformation predates FoodMesh. Her first venture was Eco Trek Tours, an enterprising nonprofit that offered eco-tours in British Columbia's Lower Mainland for school groups exploring green architecture, waste management, fisheries, and food security.
"We created field trips that connected students to their own backyards for place-based learning," Regan recalls of her early work. Subsequent initiatives included collaborating with real estate developers on mixed intentional planning and affordable housing projects, all of which informed her eventual adoption of the benefit corporation model for FoodMesh.
The B-Corp CertificationFoodMesh operates as a certified B-Corp, meaning it meets rigorous standards for social and environmental impact, governance, transparency, and accountability. "From day one, we blended the different pillars of a sustainable business into FoodMesh," Regan emphasizes, highlighting her holistic approach to social enterprise.
As a four-time entrepreneur, public speaker, and strategist for social enterprise development, Regan embodies the International Women's Day theme of "Give to Gain" through both her professional achievements and personal philosophy. Her work demonstrates how innovative thinking and determined action can transform systemic problems into sustainable solutions that benefit communities across Canada.
