On February 22nd at the Gentilly Golf Club, more than sixty organizations active in the territory of the MRC of Bécancour participated in the third edition of the Great Partners Meeting titled “Food at the Heart of Communities.” Organized by the Social and Collective Development Committee (CDSC) of the MRC of Bécancour, this event aimed to present what has been done in the territory over the past year in terms of social development, with particular attention to initiatives aimed at promoting food autonomy and thus countering food insecurity in particular.
The day began with a presentation of the three issues of the CDSC's three-year action plan, which are: 1) Establishing a comprehensive and integrated vision for territorial development, 2) Supporting demographic vitality, and 3) Reaching out to and supporting vulnerable individuals. For each issue, sharing successes and presenting initiatives allowed participants to see what is already being done by local actors for community development or to draw inspiration from initiatives outside the region. This included the establishment of a student media team at the Secondary School les Seigneuries and the insertion platforms of Bellechasse. A discussion workshop followed by a plenary session completed this first block.
The afternoon was dedicated to food, featuring the conference “Towards Local Food Systems” given by Vincent Galarneau from the organization Vivre en Ville. Local initiatives aimed at food autonomy were then presented. These initiatives included the Community Gardens of the City of Bécancour, Frigo Free Go from the Community Economic Development Corporation of Trois-Rivières, the Incredible Edibles from the Women’s Center Parmi Elles, and the Seed Festival of Nicolet. Finally, participants were invited to take part in a reflection workshop “How to Put Food Back at the Heart of Our Communities,” fostering the emergence of ideas and collaboration among organizations for ongoing or upcoming projects.
In the evening, anyone concerned about healthy eating, local food offerings, and local consumption in the MRC of Bécancour was invited to an evening specially dedicated to citizens. This evening, hosted by Éric Lachapelle, a host at CKBN, was an opportunity to be inspired, to express oneself, and to collectively reflect on innovative solutions in urban agriculture and food autonomy. For the occasion, Mr. Galarneau happily repeated his conference, and other community-led initiatives were presented, namely the Collective Garden of the municipality of Fortierville, the Incredible Edibles from the Citizens' Committee of Nicolet, and La Brouette, a new support economy enterprise for local agriculture initiatives in Mauricie. The thirty citizens present were also invited to a discussion and exchange period.
As the event was part of the project All Together for a Hunger-Free Chain, which aims to collect food items to enhance food aid throughout the year and not just during the Christmas holiday season, the entry fee was a food item.
Several partners collaborated in organizing the activity, including the CDC of the MRC of Bécancour, the SADC of Nicolet-Bécancour, the CIUSSS Mauricie-Centre-du-Québec, the MRC of Bécancour, LaRue Bécancour, Julie Pressé, citizen and mayor of Fortierville, CKBN, the Transportation of Persons of the MRC of Bécancour, Mymoza, the Alcoa Foundation, and the Organizational Responsibility Pro Action program.