Square Roots, a Nova Scotia social enterprise founded at Saint Mary’s University, celebrates major milestone
Square Roots team members sorting produce for a community pick-up event
Square Roots, founded by Saint Mary’s University students in 2016, buys imperfect yet perfectly edible food from local farmers and sells it directly to customers at a price that is 50% less than the grocery store. Nova Scotians benefit from getting healthy food at a more affordable price and farmers benefit because they get revenue from the food that would otherwise go to waste. This month, Square Roots celebrates the major milestone of delivering one million pounds of food since its beginning in 2016.
“We could not have done it without the student teams, the community champions and the farmers. ”
“Square Roots is delighted to reach this one million pounds of food milestone. We could not have done it without the student teams, the community champions and the farmers. We believe this is just the beginning of what’s possible. We are currently in 16 communities and want to be in every county in Nova Scotia by April 2025, and we have a vision to take this model nationally,” says Courtney Dingle, Square Roots president and SMU business student.
Square Roots was developed by students at SMU who participate in an international student program called Enactus. Enactus marries entrepreneurial-minded students with social action. Square Roots addresses the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity. At the farm level, 30% of harvested produce is dumped into landfills due to cosmetic imperfections despite being perfectly healthy. Square Roots rescues this "less attractive" produce that would otherwise be discarded, offering it at affordable prices to those with limited access to healthy food.
Working with local contacts, Square Roots is currently bringing food to over 25 communities across Nova Scotia—the newest being Port Hawkesbury, D’Escousse, Sydney, Baddeck, Cornwallis Park, Digby, Yarmouth, Shelburne, Mill Village and Lunenburg. The team intends to be in all Nova Scotia counties by May 2025 and, in the bigger picture, has plans to expand across Canada by 2026.
A community member looks through produce at a Square Roots market
Saint Mary’s Enactus students created Square Roots in 2016
The SMU Enactus team is well-recognized in Canada and around the world. They have placed in the top 4 at the Canadian Enactus National Championships for 11 of the last 13 years and won the Canadian National Championship in 2024. With this recognition, the team represented Canada at the Global Enactus Championship in Kazakhstan in October 2024.
September 2025 update
After winning the National Championship for the second year in a row, Enactus Saint Mary’s travelled to the Enactus World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, where they were named Global Champions for the first time! Read more about their Global Championship win and watch the award-winning presentation.