Local groups give free vegetables to Montrealers in need as back-to-school budgets tighten

The first potatoes of the season have just been harvested from the grounds of Bois-de-la-Roche Agricultural Park, located in Senneville, a small village in Montreal's West Island.

Acquired by the city of Montréal more than 30 years ago, this agricultural land has only been cultivated since 2015 thanks to the Cultiver l'espoir project, led by Regroupement Partage, in partnership with the social services organization D-Trois-Pierres.

"The goal is to give back to families in need," said Audrey Renaud, executive director of Regroupement Partage, a local non-profit organization that provides food security and school supplies to families in need.

"We're giving back more than 800,000 servings of vegetables to the population," Renaud said. 

Four types of vegetables are being offered this year: carrots, potatoes, beets and cabbage.

Before the land, which had been used for farming at the beginning of the last century, could be used to grow food again, it had to be restored.

"It needed a lot of love," said D-Trois-Pierres executive director Benoît Deguire, saying rocks had to be extracted and the land levelled and drained. 

Nevertheless, production is increasing year after year. From cultivating three and a half hectares of land in previous years, the groups grew that to five this year. The organizations plan to cultivate 10 next year and even 15 in years to come, Deguire says. 

Growing demand

Production is growing to keep up with demand for help amid soaring costs. Food prices are rising faster than families' financial means, says Renaud. 

This year, she said, almost half the families who showed up for school supplies through Opération Sac à dos, were new to the program.

"We find ourselves with a new class of applicants, which is the middle class," said Renaud. 

She said the non-profit will need more financial assistance to be able to keep up with demand, explaining that D-Trois-Pierres has to be paid, despite the lack of a subsidy this year from the Quebec government.

"The bigger we get and the more we want to give away, the more support we'll need from other players, because that means more storage and freezers," said Alexandre Godley, a farm manager at D-Trois-Pierres.

Part of the harvest will be distributed from mid-August onward during Opération Sac à dos, when school supplies will be distributed to children in some 20 Montreal neighbourhoods, as well as in Longueuil and Saint-Jérôme.

Another portion of the vegetables will be sold in grocery stores to finance the project. The bags will bear the Cultiver l'espoir logo.

"People who buy this produce contribute to the local economy, support food-insecure people and eat fresh vegetables," said Renaud.