Moisson Montréal expands the Food Recovery Program with Supermarkets across the province of Quebec

MONTREAL, July 7, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Proud of the program results obtained in Montreal, Estrie, Quebec City and Montreal's South Shore in just under two years, Moisson Montréal is happy to announce that the Food Recovery Program with Supermarkets will now be implemented in all regions of Quebec. The province-wide deployment plan for the Food Recovery Program with Supermarkets will mean the integration of ten Moisson members and associate members of Food Banks of Quebec by January 2016.

The Food Recovery Program with Supermarkets, the first of its kind in Canada, has recovered 534 tons of total foodstuffs, including 197 tons of meat, 148 tons of varied products and frozen items, 137 tons of baked goods and 52 tons of fruits and vegetables since it was created in October 2013. In order to collect these foodstuffs, meat and meat substitutes in particular, Moisson Montréal signed a provincial agreement with Quebec's largest grocery chains. The organization anticipates nearly 210 participating supermarkets by March 31^st, 2017.

This program has generated savings of some $4.2 million for community organizations between its launch in 2013 and today. Thanks to the recovered foodstuffs, these organizations can now allot the budget previously earmarked to buy food to other crucial services instead. This enables them to provide their clients with higher quality services and resources.

Consequently, the list of participating organizations grew this morning to pave the way for a new collaboration with Comptoir alimentaire de Sept-Îles (CASI), which will launch a recovery pilot project with four supermarkets in the city of Sept-Îles before the end of August 2015. Following an economic slowdown caused by massive job losses in the region, Moisson Montréal decided to act and is thus supporting CASI in its efforts to improve sustainable development and food aid in the community.

"Faced with such an incredible show of solidarity and seeing how committed partners, donors, municipal counsellors and benefactors are to the CASI project, we had no choice but to applaud their efforts and offer this organization our expertise. Since CASI fulfilled our criteria and were able to secure the necessary funding to deploy a pilot project, we offered them our knowledge and skills for how to craft sustainable solutions to the food insecurity problem," explains Dany Michaud, Executive Director of Moisson Montréal. In launching this pilot project, CASI commits to respecting Moisson Montréal's standards and agrees to be closely regulated by the organization.

Although the CASI project was not anticipated in the initial Program planning, this addition will in no way slow down province-wide deployment with other Moisson members. "Each food bank addition is an independent decision that must meet numerous, strict and measurable criteria. Under the deployment protocol agreed upon by Moisson Montréal and its partners, collected foodstuffs must be distributed to community organizations that will process the food and offer food assistance to individuals suffering from food insecurity in local communities," clarifies Mr. Michaud.

As part of its mission, Moisson Montréal seeks to help the largest number of organizations possible benefit from the expertise and best practices that it has developed through the Food Recovery Program with Supermarkets. These practices include how to develop a training program for the supermarkets and food banks employees, to ensure that quality assurance and traceability standards for foods, as well as cold chain compliance, are respected.

About Moisson Montréal
A non-profit organization founded in 1984, Moisson Montréal is today the largest food bank in Canada. Through its centre for collecting, sorting and distributing emergency food assistance, the organization allocates nearly 800 tons of food per month to more than 240 accredited community organizations on the Island of Montreal. In turn, these organizations provide food assistance to 140,000 people, including more than 20,000 children aged between 0 and 5. Moisson Montréal receives funding and supplies mainly through donations. Its operations require the collaboration of nearly 8,000 volunteers each year and result in the redistribution of about $61 million worth of groceries annually. Winner of the 2015 Novae Corporate Citizenship Prize in the Supply category for its Food Recovery Program with Supermarkets. For additional information: www.moissonmontreal.org.

About CASI
The Comptoir alimentaire de Sept-Îles (CASI) is a not-for-profit organization that has been providing food aid to those in need since 1992. It assists those living alone, as well as families, in need of food aid due to reduced financial circumstances. During the 2014-2015 fiscal year alone, CASI provided emergency food aid 1,205 times. CASI has been recognized by its peers, receiving the Organization of the Year Award during the closing ceremonies of the 2015 Semaine de l'action bénévole, as well as the Medal of the National Assembly for the quality of services delivered to the community of Sept-Îles, Quebec.

To view CASI's press release published on July 7 2015, follow this link (French only): www.moissonmontreal.org/sept-iles

SOURCE MOISSON MONTREAL

For further information: To request information or an interview, please contact: Alexandra Carpentier, Communications coordinator, Moisson Montréal, T. 514 344-4494, ext. 239 | C. 514 701-4206, [email protected]