The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced funding of $27,900 shared between ten organizations in the Québec City area. This funding was made available under the Food Policy for Canada`s Local Food Infrastructure Fund emergency funding, and distributed via partners at the Breakfast Club of Canada.
These organizations used funding to purchase food and other basic necessities, to buy or rent equipment and materials, transport and distribute food, access new distribution centres, hire temporary help to fill volunteer shortages, and to implement measures to protect their workers and volunteers.
Thanks to a Local Food Infrastructure Fund grant, Le Pignon Bleu was able to serve breakfast to ensure food security for children attending 21 day camps in the Quebec City area. The organization also distributes 8,000 snacks every day, in addition to providing breakfasts to children who do not have access to nutritious food. During the pandemic that forced the closure of schools, emergency assistance was used to deliver prepared meals and priority food items directly to families in precarious situations. Between 500 and 1,000 meals a day were delivered and more than 5,000 families benefited from this service. When classes resumed, regular deliveries resumed in partner schools, but meals continued to be delivered to families whose children had not returned to school.
The $100-million emergency funding was launched in March to help improve access to food for people experiencing food insecurity in Canada because of COVID-19. The funding was distributed to food banks and other national food rescue organizations who allocated it through their networks. To date, 1,856 individual projects in communities across Canada have received support under this emergency funding. The Breakfast Club of Canada is receiving $11.25 million through the emergency funding to support local food groups across the country.
In addition to this emergency funding, the Government launched the $50 million Surplus Food Rescue Program, which aims to move surplus food commodities through the food system as efficiently as possible to help vulnerable Canadians. $25 million has also been allocated to Nutrition North to ensure food security for Canada’s most vulnerable in northern areas.
Source : Government of Canada