Lori Nikkel is a visionary leader and champion of social and environmental justice issues related to food. She is an international thought leader on Perishable Food Recovery with a strategic focus on increasing awareness of the negative impacts’ food loss has on climate. Lori’s guidance has changed the way Canada manages food loss and waste.
She is a co-author of the The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste, a world first evidence-based research project that identifies where, why, and how much food is lost and wasted across the supply chain, originally published in 2019 and updated in 2024. She has also co-authored Canada’s Invisible Food Network that identifies the extent of food support to charities and non-profits across the country and Wasted Opportunity which dives deeper into food loss and waste in the food industry, the types of surplus edible food, and proposed solutions. A favored media contributor, Lori is sought after for her commentary and recommendations.
She was globally recognized by the United Nations as Canada’s Food Hero, is a Clean 50 recipient and has been recognized as one of Canada’s Women of Influence. Lori was named one of Waterstone Capital’s Most Admired CEOs and in 2022 was appointed to the Order of Ontario. As CEO of Second Harvest Lori has developed a national food recovery network that redistributes healthy surplus food to thousands of communities in need.
