Montreal, November 26th, 2024 – This month of December, restaurateurs, chefs and local producers are joining forces at the Carrefour Solidaire Community Food Centre (CFC) to affirm that the Right to Food is everyone’s business.
Starting on December 2, the Carrefour Solidaire CCA is mobilizing local food system actors, closing the year by highlighting the Right to Food. During the month of December, restaurateurs, chefs, and local producers will collaborate to put together a series of festive meals and fuel the discussion on the Right to Food. Through this series of community meals, the community is invited to contribute to the projects and actions of the organization and its partners.
Food insecurity in Montreal continues to grow. According to the latest statistics from the Regional Public Health Department, 15% of Montreal’s population lives in a food insecure household. Indigenous people, visible minorities, and immigrants are disproportionately affected.
As a food security organization based in the Centre-Sud neighbourhood of Montreal, Carrefour Solidaire CFC is mobilizing with its many partners to demand concrete measures that will alleviate the root causes of food insecurity and poverty, while deploying innovative direct services that meet the growing immediate needs in the community. Their vision: stable physical and economic access to adequate, dignified and sustainable food for all.
The first week of December, chef Marie-Aliette Forges, owner of the Shandmas restaurant on Ontario Street East, presents her soupe joumou, a traditional Haitian meal, to the community during two days of community meals, called Bols du quartier, at the Carrefour solidaire CCA.
Ms. Forges explains, “in Haiti, one in ten people cannot eat a meal a day. I am aware that I am privileged not to be part of this statistic, because it could have been me. By immigrating to Quebec, I realized that it is not only in my country that people are in a situation of food insecurity. Which makes me doubly privileged. So my story and that of the other members of my family still there means that I am totally in favor of food access and dignity for all. Food is fuel for the proper functioning of the human body, so no one should be deprived of it. […] We believe that the more voices there are to address the problem, the more chances there will be to be heard by decision-makers and to generate a response to the problem.”
The second week of December, Community Chef Gordana Zafirovic of Carrefour Solidaire CFC and her team will offer a seasonal menu featuring the harvests of Ferme Berthe-Rousseau and Coop les Jardins de la Résistance.
For this occasion, Martin Couture, a local farmer from Ferme Berthe-Rousseau, is graciously offering his fall harvests. “It is a great honour and a great pleasure for us to collaborate modestly with Carrefour Solidaire,” explains Mr. Couture. “We produce vegetables to feed people. We do it in an ecological way to protect the planet, in solidarity with all those who do the same job in the world and in solidarity with all who, like Carrefour Solidaire, work to make the products of the earth available.”
Throughout the month, members of the Action and Reflection Committee for Food Autonomy (CARAA), made up of citizens from the Centre-Sud, will be present at the Bols du quartier to discuss the Right to Food with members.
Sylvain Desjardins, a member of CARAA and a local citizen, explains, “It takes everyone to end hunger. We each have a role to play in supporting our neighbours and upholding our values in the community.”
