Institutions Eat Local! 2023

The 5th edition has just ended !

Congratulations to all participating institutions for their activities.

During this week, Aliments du Québec au menu invited all Quebec institutions to deploy small and large actions in their environment to make users aware of the importance of discovering, cooking and tasting Quebec products!

On the menu for this 5th edition: 100% local menus, thematic activities, cooking workshops, visits to regional producers and more! See you next September for a 6th edition!

This event is initiated by Aliments du Québec au menu – Institution program (developed by Aliments du Québec et Équiterre, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec) in partnership with the Regroupement des Tables de concertation bioalimentaire du Québec (RTCBQ).

Contest: More than $10,000 in participation prizes to be won!

Participating establishments could be eligible for various prizes* up for grabs for more than $10,000:

Two (2) participation prizes worth $1,000 will be offered to institutions whose activity is selected as a “favourite” by Aliments du Québec and Équiterre.
Three (3) participation prizes worth $500 each will be offered to establishments that have taken up one of the three challenges launched by Emmanuel Bilodeau.
Two (2) participation prizes worth $500 will be drawn at random among the institutions that are members of the Aliments du Québec au menu – Institution program.
Fourteen (14) prizes of $500 will be awarded to participants drawn at random.

How to enter the contest?

(1) Complete the 1st form “I want to take part in the event” now!

(2) The week of the event, you will receive a 2th form “I took part in the event” which you will be asked to complete to detail your activity with a supporting photo. You will have until Friday, October 6 to complete the form. *The 2nd form will also be available on this page as of September 25.

(3) The draw will be made the week of October 9, and the winners will be contacted that same week.

In addition to the chance to win a participation prize, the information collected will help promote and enhance the actions you have organized. *See the complete contest rules here.

Who can participate?

This event is intended for all institutional establishments, both private and public:

Early childhood services (childcare centres and daycares)
Schools (preschool to university level)
Vocational and Technical Educational Institution
Healthcare establishments (hospitals, CHSLDs)
Workplaces
Living environments (residences for seniors, youth centers, housing, rehabilitation center, etc.)
Not-for-profit, community, recreational or organizations promoting healthy lifestyles
Companies, agrifood suppliers or distributors

How to celebrate local foods?

Here are some activities to inspire you!

Institutions are free to organize the desired number of activities for the desired number of days. In previous editions, nearly 500 activities of all kinds were organized across Quebec:

Local harvest menu, culinary workshop, tasting of little-known products: Sharing a meal made entirely from Quebec products with your friends or colleagues is easy!
Thematic activity, colouring, game and fun activity aimed at introducing kids to foods grown right here in Quebec!
Pop-up market, self-picking food, meeting with a farmer: Develop closer ties with the farms and artisans in your region!
Training, conferences, workshops: A great opportunity to explore how we can improve our daily diet and increase our consumption of locally produced food year-round!

A Collaborative Event

Institutions Eat Local! is an opportunity to develop closer ties with actors in the biofood sector in your region and to learn how you can improve your food procurement. The Tables de concertation bioalimentaire in various regions of Quebec (TCBQ) can help you organize your activity and put you in touch with local farmers and producers.

Don’t hesitate to contact the Table de concertation bioalimentaire in your region.

Need inspiration?

To help you organize an activity highlighting local food that is adapted to your institution’s resources and capabilities, a downloadable “Ideas Box” will soon be available on this page. It will offer several tools and ideas to help you with the organization of your event from September 25 to October 1st, 2023.

Overview of previous editions

LIML2022_Service de garde éducatif Marie-Soleil_01

LIML2022_CPE LeSoleilDeJeannot_InstallationHornerGranby_01c

LIML2022_ContentContent_CegepStJeromeCompass_DSCF6602c

LIML2022_ContentContent_EcoleEnfantJesus_DSCF6644c

LIML2022_Logis Communautaires l'Harmonie_01b

LIML2022_Aramark_Ecole des Ursulines Quebec_04

LIML2022_Service de garde Catherine Houle_01b

LIML2022_ContentContent_CegepStJeromeCompass_DSCF6586c

Testimonals from former participants

The educators and the children loved all the activities, tastings and going out. Several children were looking for the potatoes in the plants; not knowing that they grew underground. To see the pleasure they had in being able to dig them up themselves was wonderful!

My students really enjoyed going out to a local farm. It's not every day that they have the chance to be in direct contact with Quebec producers. It makes us appreciate local foods more. Coming back to school, the children told me that they would like to go out like this again.

We have noted a growing interest among students for local products. The young people learned to cook and make preserves for use during the winter to reduce grocery costs.

The college community greatly appreciated the event. The turnout was excellent. The planters of the educational vegetable garden have been highlighted.

Everyone really appreciated the initiative and agreed to repeat this kind of activity once a month considering the simplicity and the pleasure of discovering new products.

The talk allowed the elders to reminisce about the delights of yesteryear. Many culinary memories came out. Everyone loved the activity.

Your institution is not a member of the

Aliments du Québec au menu program?

Questions?

Feel free to contact us if you need assistance! We’re always happy to help!

MATHILDE LAROCHE-BOUGIE

Manager of Aliments du Québec au menu program

[email protected]