Minister Bibeau highlights federal investments in food security and celebrates milestone with La Tablée des Chefs

QUEBEC CITY, July 10, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, visited with  La Tablée des Chefs where she highlighted a contribution of $800,000 the Government of Canada has made to the organization through the Local Food Infrastructure Fund emergency funding. 

Minister Bibeau also took this opportunity to celebrate with the organization as they reached the milestone of two million meals produced for Food Banks of Quebec under their Les Cuisines Solidaires project.

As the impacts of COVID-19 began to be felt across the province, food banks were not spared. Many of them had to contend with fewer volunteers and workers. La Tablée des Chefs recognized these challenges and responded by launching Les Cuisines Solidaires in early April 2020.

The project mobilized restaurant owners and chefs who could prepare ready-to-deliver meals for food banks. These highly capable chefs and their teams were able to prepare large quantities of food. Restaurants were also able to repurpose ingredients which would otherwise be wasted. To date, more than two million meals have been prepared and shipped through La Tablée des Chefs.

The Government of Canada's contribution will also enable La Tablée des Chefs to organize the production and distribution of an additional 400,000 meals in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Calgary, thanks to Solidarity Kitchens, the Canada-wide expansion of Cuisines Solidaires.

In response to COVID-19, the Government of Canada has undertaken several initiatives to support food security across the country. The Government launched a $100 million emergency fund to help improve access to food for people experiencing food insecurity in Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, this emergency funding has supported 1,856 individual projects in communities across Canada.

In addition, 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.

Quotes

"I want to extend my sincerest congratulations to La Tablée des Chefs on reaching 2 million meals prepared. This is an enormous accomplishment, and this project has made a real impact in improving food security in Quebec as a result of COVID-19. Our government will continue to be there to ensure Canada`s most vulnerable people have access to good, healthy food."

-       Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"We are proud to support the members of La Tablée des Chefs who were there for the community right from the start of the health crisis and who quickly formed a culinary brigade to help vulnerable families and individuals and who continue their work which is so beneficial to our society."

-       Jean-Yves Duclos, Member of Parliament for Québec and President of the Treasury Board

"I congratulate the Tablée des Chefs for the Cuisines Solidaires project, which has made it possible to mobilize the food industry and Quebec chefs to produce more than 2,000,000 meals and feed people in need during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Congratulations for your commitment!"

-       Joël Lightbound, Member of Parliament for Louis-Hébert Quebec, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"During this particularly difficult period, mutual aid and solidarity are more necessary than ever. Les Cuisines Solidaires was born out of the mobilization of Quebec's entire agri-food and culinary ecosystem, and we are very pleased to see the governments of Quebec and Canada supporting this movement. We would particularly like to thank Minister Bibeau and Minister Lamontagne for their leadership. The funds provided will allow us to feed even more people while the crisis continues to have disastrous repercussions for the most vulnerable populations. Let's all work together to get through this!"

-       Jean-François Archambault, Executive Director and Founder, La Tablée des Chefs

Quick Facts

• The Local Food Infrastructure Fund emergency funding aims to improve access to food for Canadians facing social, economic, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• La Tablée des Chefs works to increase the social involvement of chefs, cooks and pastry chefs in Quebec to feed people in need and helps develop the culinary education of young people.
• Over 100 chefs and cooks participated in the Les Cuisines Solidaires project, with over 600 tons of food donated from the agriculture and agri-food sector. The project raised more than $3 million through donations through corporate partners, Canadians, organizations and the governments of Canada and Quebec.

Associated Links

• Supporting people experiencing food insecurity in Canada because of COVID-19
• Les Cuisines Solidaires - La Tablée des Chefs
• Prime Minister announces support for food banks and local food organizations
• Supporting farmers and food businesses to help feed Canada during COVID-19

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SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Jean-Sébastien Comeau, Press Secretary,Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food,[email protected],343-549-2326; Media Relations, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 613-773-7972, 1-866-345-7972, [email protected]

Related Links

www.agr.gc.ca