The Quebec government is providing $6 million in emergency aid to food banks across the province, which are seeing a significant surge in demand due to the upcoming holiday season and rampant inflation that continues to rise.

Minister for Social Solidarity and Community Actions, Chantal Rouleau, and Agriculture Minister, André Lamontagne, made the announcement in Sherbrooke on Sunday. Chantal Rouleau acknowledged that the province is currently going through a “particular time when hunger is being felt more strongly”, mainly due to the increase in food prices.

According to inflation data from Statistics Canada, food prices rose 11% in October compared to the same period last year.

The $6 million emergency aid announced Sunday brings the Quebec government’s investment in support of Quebec’s food banks to $11 million this year.

Minister Chantal Rouleau stressed in an interview that these amounts are part of a “long-term” support to help distribution centers modernize their infrastructure.

“It allows food banks to expand their warehouses, mechanize, acquire new freezers and refrigerators… In short, projects that allow better preservation of food and improve food distribution to organizations they do business with,” she said.

For the general manager of the Food Banks of Quebec, Martin Munger, this new sum comes as a “Christmas present in advance”, he pointed out during the press conference. Like the minister, he explained that this new sum will allow food banks to buy more food, distribute it to families in need, but also improve their facilities to be able to store more food.

In particular, Martin Munger explained that one of the group’s projects is to cook certain perishable foods and convert them, for example, into frozen meals in order to keep them in stock longer. But that requires better facilities, hence his warm welcome to the government’s announcement.

Despite his enthusiasm, Martin Munger painted a less cheerful portrait of the current situation in Quebec.

According to data from the Food Banks of Quebec, more than 2.2 million food aid applications are made in the province each month, a significant increase from last year.

But Martin Munger claimed the new government support will help Quebec’s food banks, which are made up of 32 members, including 19 Moisson members, to meet growing demand.

“When we talk about emergency relief, we want to make sure everyone can eat and no one is left behind. […] We must continue to work to reduce poverty and social exclusion in this spirit of solidarity that characterizes us,” concluded Chantal Rouleau, adding that she will try “to take the best possible measures in the current economic conditions”.