A healthy lifestyle is everybody’s business!
La Sarre, December 13, 2016 – François Gendron, MNA (Abitibi-Ouest), is delighted with the donation of fresh fruits and vegetables by the Quebec Produce Marketing Association (QPMA) and IGA Boyer to the Maison St-André in Abitibi-Ouest.
As a nonprofit community organization supporting some 165 low-income households in the riding, Maison St-André is also a social economy enterprise that actively supports those who benefit from its services in adopting and maintaining healthier lifestyles. This is accomplished through food support that includes hot meals, emergency assistance, food baskets (panniers de solidarité), a food counter, and kitchens for creative cooking.
“Maison St-André is very active in our community. In addition to helping those most in need, it organizes and provides numerous activities to help them keep up a healthy lifestyle. This donation by the QPMA and IGA will allow residents who benefit from this fine organization’s services to eat healthy meals. It’s also a great way to raise their awareness about the importance of proper diet,” said MNA François Gendron in a message delivered on his behalf by political attaché Marie-Josée Céleste.
For several years now, IGA Boyer has supported Maison St-André on a significant scale, averaging $37,000 a year over the past 5 years. “We’re proud that we can support Maison St-André once again. This collaboration makes a perfect combination with our ‘Joy of Eating Better’ movement, which will allow many families to obtain food assistance. We believe in this, and we want to make a real difference in our community,” said Sylvain Boyer, owner of the IGA Boyer store.
A partnership that delivers real benefits
In its efforts to encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables in Quebec, the QPMA suggested a unique partnership plan with members of the Quebec National Assembly earlier this year, allowing local organizations to benefit from donations of fresh produce.
“Eating their minimum recommended daily servings remains a challenge for half our population. Although we’ve seen much greater availability and variety of fruits and vegetables in Quebec in recent years, actual consumption is making slower progress. This is the reason why we wanted to partner with MNAs to raise awareness and commit Quebec to an ambitious, modern vision. Eating fruits and vegetables means having a healthier Quebec. Health that’s based on eating as many delicious fruits and vegetables as people want. Talk about ‘tidings of great joy’ in the Holiday Season! We’re very happy that the MNA for Abitibi-Ouest is taking part in this initiative. It’s a very real step toward a much healthier lifestyle,” said QPMA CEO Sophie Perreault.
ABOUT THE QPMA
Founded in 1947, the Quebec Produce Marketing Association (QPMA) is a nonprofit organization that brings together members from every sector of the produce industry, working in close synergy with them and with its various industry partners. The QPMA works to create a favourable environment for the development of fruit and vegetable marketing in Quebec, plays a leadership role in promoting fruits and vegetables, and represents and defends the best interests of its members with government and the industry.Fondée en 1947, l’Association québécoise de la distribution de fruits et légumes (AQDFL) est une organisation à but non lucratif regroupant des membres actifs dans toute la filière des fruits et des légumes. L’OBNL travaille en synergie avec ceux-ci ainsi qu’avec les différents partenaires de l’industrie. Elle veille à créer un environnement propice au développement de la commercialisation des fruits et légumes au Québec, elle joue un rôle de leader dans leur promotion, et elle représente et défend les intérêts de ses membres auprès des différentes instances gouvernementales et auprès de l’industrie.
About the “I love 5 to 10 servings a day” campaign
Launched by the Quebec Produce Marketing Association (QPMA) in 2004, the “I love 5 to 10 servings a day” campaign is intended to raise consumer awareness about the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy lifestyle and, as a result, to increase sales of these products for the benefit of its members. For more information, please visit jaime5a10.ca/en or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Informations:
Sophie Perreault
Chief Executive Officer
QPMA
514-777-6319
sperreault@aqdfl.ca
