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Opting for local food, grown or prepared in Quebec, means a shorter distance to your plate and therefore fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less need for preservatives. We can easily make these choices for the food we bring into our households, but what about the food that is served at school, at the daycare, at the hospital, at the office? In collaboration with Équiterre, Aliments du Québec au menu is making it easier than ever for institutional cafeterias to prepare their meals with local ingredients.
Since Équiterre approached Aliments du Québec three years ago to develop a program to encourage local food procurement by the food services in schools, health care centres and workplaces, 72 institutions across Quebec have been recognized.
Watch the 6 videos here (French only)
Good for the local economy, good for the environment
“Considering the amount of people that a school, hospital or workplace feeds every day, every new institution that opts to increase the amount of local food in their meals can have a tremendous impact on the Quebec economy,” explains Murielle Vrins, Project Manager Institutional Food at Équiterre. “And there’s less need for heavily refrigerated trucks to go great distances, so the carbon footprint of these ingredients is much smaller.”
Concordia, Sid Lee and Sainte-Justine Hospital have gone local, who’s next?
The staff members, students and clients at the 72 institutions that are recognized by Aliments du Québec au menu are proud and excited about local food. Six of them tell their inspiring stories in videos at quebecaumenu.com. And who’s next? Does your school or workplace serve local food? All it takes is the request from someone like you. Visit quebecaumenu.com, to get pre-written email that you can send to your school or workplace.
