Ongoing
This recognition and support program, created through a collaboration between Équiterre and Aliments du Québec, is open to all institutions, large or small, that wish to increase local food procurement in their food services.
The Aliments du Québec au menu - Institution program was born of a dream... the dream to be able to walk into a hospital, daycare centre, school or university and see Quebec food on the menu in the cafeteria, bistro or food service counter. Équiterre contacted Aliments du Québec with this vision and the two organizations began an institutional adventure together.
The recognition program highlights the efforts of institutions that put Quebec food on the menu of their food services and it encourages them to gradually increase their local food procurement over time.
Équiterre and Aliments du Québec hope that this program will help to inspire all Quebec institutions to incorporate more and more local food into their menus.
“ To date, 80% of participating institutions have indicated that the recognition program has inspired them to incorporate more Quebec food in their menus, while 100% believe that it encourages institutions to increase their use of local food. ”
The complementarity of Équiterre and Aliments du Québec au menu is helping to create a movement, a force that is changing the world, one local purchase at a time!
Équiterre and Aliments du Québec joined forces in 2016 to develop the institutional component of the recognition program, through a pilot project with 26 institutions from various sectors across the province.
To help showcase the program, Équiterre organized an event with the CHU Ste-Justine in 2018, to celebrate local food on Ste-Justine’s menus and to highlight all the work done by their food services team. This event inspired a new annual event known as Les institutions mangent local! beginning in 2019, in collaboration with Aliments du Québec au menu and the Tables bioalimentaires from the various regions of Quebec.
The Aliments du Québec au menu – Institution program recognizes institutions that have Quebec products on their food services menus.
Through this initiative, Quebec institutions will be inspired to adopt best practices for promoting sustainable food and set targets for the purchase of Quebec foods.
873 institutions from all across the province offer local food on their menus and are recognized under the program.
Thousands of meals per day
2 recognition options: recognition based on menu item, and an evaluation of Quebec purchases
6th edition of the event Les institutions mangent local, with a record number of participants: over 500 establishments from across Quebec took part! New this year: the 3 daring, sharing and artistic challenges.
Article on the historic costumes of Petit Pois et Carotte, an Équiterre initiative
5th edition of the event Institutions mangent local
Grocery made by Équiterre for Moisson Rive-Sud
4th edition of Les institutions mangent local!
2nd edition of the Rendez-vous des institutions! held in March
3rd edition of Les institutions mangent local!
1st edition of Rendez-vous des institutions! held in March
249 institutions recognized
Les institutions mangent local! becomes a 3-day event in September.
186 institutions recognized
Publication of the resource tool entitled Key Recipes for Local and Environmentally Responsible Food Procurement in Quebec Institutions, which includes 8 fact sheets designed to both inspire and equip institutional and food service directors and managers, chefs, teachers, educators, stakeholders, partners and other actors in the institutional food sector to adopt sustainable and exemplary food procurement practices.
Launch of the portraits of our champions: 6 short videos that showcase a daycare, a school, a CEGEP, a university, a hospital and a workplace that are working to increase their local food procurement.
La fête des récoltes becomes a one-day province-wide event (Les institutions mangent local!) in September for all institutions wishing to highlight local food on their menus.
120 recognized institutions
First Fête des récoltes at CHU Ste-Justine in September celebrating local food.
66 recognized institutions
The recognition program for institutions was officially launched in 2017.
26 recognized institutions
The recognition program was developed for the institutional setting, with a pilot project that included 26 institutions from different sectors across the province.
“ At Laniel St-Laurent, a family-owned Quebec SME, buying local has been rooted in our values since we were founded. Participating in the Aliments du Québec au menu - Institution pilot project was an opportunity for us to create a framework and clarify our procurement policy. Guidelines were established in close cooperation with Équiterre and Aliments du Québec. By working with these leading organizations in the field, we have been able to achieve concrete results and gain recognition in the community. Today, more than ever, our employees and customers support our choices and are proud to be part of them. ”
“ From the start, we realized the enormous potential of the Aliments du Québec au menu - Institution program. It gave visibility, precision and credibility to the approach we had already taken, which was to support local suppliers by sourcing their products, cooking them creatively and integrating them regularly into our menus. The program has allowed us to establish clear guidelines and definitions that engage our culinary teams and encourage them to go further in their respective areas. ”
Some inspirational examples of local food procurement leaders from different types of institutional settings (in French)
Project Manager, Sustainable Food Procurement
Advisor, Sustainable Food Procurement
Advisor, Sustainable Food Procurement
Communications Officer, Sustainable Food and Agriculture
