5 organisations involved in sustainable food in the Outaouais region

Food is a subject that concerns everyone. Learning French often starts with a few basics about food. Remember your first French lessons when you learned to say “tomate”, “pomme”, “poire” and “salade”. When you travel, you also learn how to ask for water, coffee, or the price of a meal. “Puis-je avoir l’addition s’il vous plait ?” (=”Can I have the bill, please?”)

Food is therefore an integral part of our daily lives and vital to us. But not all food is created equal. Economically, ecologically and in terms of health. An apple is better for your health than a doughnut. The quality of a food depends on how it was produced. Its impact on the environment depends on how it was produced, then processed, then transported, then thrown away or composted. Food waste is a scourge at a time when many people are suffering from malnutrition.

So, the theme of food is a broad one! The Alliance Française Ottawa, a language centre, is also a cultural centre committed to raising its members’ awareness of the environmental impact of our consumption patterns. In this article, we’re going to introduce you to 5 organizations in the Outaouais that are committed to more responsible eating for our planet and our bodies.

 

1/ Le Marché de l’Outaouais

The Marché de l’Outaouais is the largest regional online farmers’ market for local, ecological, and ethical products. It’s a community market that promotes short supply chains. The Marché de l’Outaouais defends local farmers and producers and helps support them. Most producers work with organic crops to offer certified organic fruit, vegetables, and processed products.

The Marché de l’Outaouais is a non-profit cooperative offering more than 3,000 local products prepared by over a hundred Outaouais producers. The shop is in Gatineau, where you can find some of the products on offer: fruit, vegetables, eggs, spreads, household products, hygiene products, bread, and sweets. Members, who currently number around 3,000, can collect their baskets from several collection points. They can place weekly orders or occasional ones via the online grocery shop. An annual membership fee of $30 entitles members to free logistics for 1 year.

The Marché de l’Outaouais and the Alliance Française Ottawa have worked together on a communication campaign around sustainable food. Since January 2024, the Marché de l’Outaouais and the Alliance Française Ottawa have been partners. Thanks to this partnership, you can enjoy a free annual membership at the Marché de l’Outaouais!*

A newsletter will be sent to our members to take advantage of this promotional code.

To discover the products of the Marché de l’Outaouais, click here: https://www.marcheoutaouais.com/

 

*benefit offered to Alliance Française Ottawa members, valid 1 year

 

2/ Ottawa Food Bank

The Ottawa Food Bank, an affiliate member of Food Banks of Canada, is an organization that provides emergency food assistance. The Ottawa Food Bank’s goal is to offer healthy, accessible, and sustainable products to all people suffering from hunger, to combat food insecurity. Its role is to collect, purchase, grow and distribute food to partner agencies, which in turn supply food products monthly.

In France, 14 tonnes of food are distributed every day by the Canadian Food Banks.

To support this type of organisation, you can volunteer, make a financial contribution, bring in non-perishable foodstuffs, or organise a food drive.

The Alliance Française Ottawa, in support of the Ottawa Food Bank, is organising a food drive from 12 to 31 January 2024.

To support Ottawa Food Bank, check out their website: https://www.ottawafoodbank.ca/fr/

And if you would like to receive foodstuffs, a web tool will help you find your nearest donation centre: https://www.ottawafoodbank.ca/fr/obtenir-de-la-nourriture/

 

3/ NU Grocery

NU Grocery is Ottawa’s first zero-waste grocery shop, located in Old Ottawa East on Main Street. NU Grocery was launched in August 2017. Its goal is to offer products in bulk or with as little packaging as possible to reduce our waste production.

The grocery shop offers a variety of food products: legumes, fruit and vegetables, dairy products, household products and even some resources to develop a zero-waste lifestyle daily (vegetable bag, book on zero waste, reusable water bottle). The shop is open from Tuesday to Sunday, and you can even shop online!

Valerie LELOUP, founder of NU Grocery, is personally committed to a zero-waste lifestyle and is keen to share her knowledge with as many people as possible. She is also a speaker at various conferences. On 12 January 2024, at the Alliance Française Ottawa’s galette des rois evening, Valerie LELOUP gave a talk entitled “Responsible consumption” to raise awareness of our consumption patterns and the tools we can use to make consumption more respectful of people and the planet.

To discover NU Grocery products, click here.

To (re)watch the pictures of the evening at the Alliance Française Ottawa, click here!

 

4/ Foodsharing Ottawa

Foodsharing Ottawa is a non-profit organization founded in 2015 by a group of volunteers passionate about reducing food waste. Foodsharing Ottawa’s goal is to reduce the environmental impact of food waste and food insecurity in Ottawa. To achieve this, the association recovers unsold or discarded food from restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, and farmers’ markets. 17 regular organisations donate food to Foodsharing Ottawa. The association is run by a team of 80 volunteers who collect and distribute the food to community organisations.

In Canada, 1 in 5 shopping bags of food ends up in the bin. 50% of food waste occurs at home, at the consumer’s premises, compared with 10% on farms and 20% in the distribution process.

To reduce food waste, you can:

  • Buy less (only buy what you can eat)
  • Buying short-dated products in supermarkets
  • Cook the vegetables we buy and freeze them to keep them if we don’t eat them
  • Donate food that is still good to community organisations or shared fridges
  • Inform your family and friends about the impact of food waste

You can also get involved with Foodsharing Ottawa or community associations or make a monetary donation.

To get more information about Foodsharing Ottawa, click here.

 

5/ VegOttawa

VegOttawa, also known as The National Capital Vegetarian Association (NCVA), is a non-profit organization that promotes vegan lifestyle in Ottawa. The organisation highlights the economic players involved in vegan food in Ottawa and raises awareness of the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. It also aims to raise awareness of the structures involved among interested Ottawa residents.

This January, the Veganuary challenge is being offered around the world, and VegOttawa is also promoting it. The association is asking its members and the public questions about the benefits of a vegan diet, for example. Each week, one winner wins a discount at one of VegOttawa’s partner establishments. VegOttawa has a network of partners, from books to coffee to beauty products. And members, now numbering over 225, can take advantage of discounts ranging from 5 to 15% at partner retailers.

One of VegOttawa’s flagship events is the Vegan Who Snack festival, which takes place every June.

To find out more about the association, click here.

 

These various organisations committed to sustainable food in the Outaouais region offer a variety of opportunities for volunteering, community involvement, and discovering a more responsible way of life. After learning the basic vocabulary of food, the Alliance Française Ottawa invites you to discover these organizations, to make our food more sustainable, accessible, and healthy!