Northern Lights recipient – Fatima Saleem

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Location: Calgary, Alberta

Fatima Saleem is a 19-year-old biomedical sciences student at the University of Calgary. She co-founded Zero Waste, a student-run non-profit organization with the goals of alleviating hunger and preventing excess food from ending up in landfills.

To achieve its mandate, Zero Waste partners with various food providers including restaurants, hotels, and catering companies with excess food and redirects it to homeless shelters. Last year, over 60,000 Albertans were provided with meals. During COVID-19, Fatima and Zero Waste have partnered with a Calgary Jerusalem Shawarma restaurant to provide 10,000 free meals.