Photo credits: Dan Desrochers

MONTRÉAL, May 1, 2015 – Following up on a pilot project launched last year, Moisson Montréal is pleased to announce the participation of its brand new Suspended Meals truck in the 41-street food truck rally held tonight at the Olympic Park’s Esplanade Financière Sun Life. The first of the First Friday of the Month series, this event also launches the awareness campaign on food insecurity, which will run until October 2, 2015. Inspired by European Suspended Coffee initiatives, the Suspended Meals project is organized in partnership with the Québec Street Food Association (QSFA) so that everyone can make a difference and pay it forward.

The first project of its kind in Canada, the Suspended Meals truck will not sell food, but give everyone the opportunity to pay for a meal in advance. This meal will then be offered to a person who experiences food insecurity and lives in one of Montréal’s neighbourhoods. As part of last year’s pilot project launched for the YUL-EAT Food Festival, this time around it will be deployed on a wider scale in partnership with community organizations accredited by Moisson Montréal. The aim is to help individuals and families enjoy street food in their own neighbourhood to promote their social rehabilitation, at least to a certain extent, despite food insecurity.

With the support of the QSFA, the City of Montréal, and Desjardins, people will be able to buy $10 meal coupons via the Suspended Meals truck (which will travel all over the city), the Moisson Montréal website, or one of the city’s numerous outdoor events or block parties. These coupons will then be given to community organizationsaccredited by Moisson Montréal, which in turn will distribute them to individuals and families in need. Coupons are redeemable against a meal at any one of the participating QSFA food trucks.

“The pilot project generated a lot of interest last year. That’s why we decided to go ahead and make it happen this year with the support of the QSFA and the City of Montréal. We thus developed a sustainable solution to provide Montrealers in need with local, accessible, and delicious food. We wish to warmly thank our partners for their support and encourage Montrealers at large to come and see us at our truck or to visit our website to make a goodwill gesture towards those who usually don’t have the chance to choose a gourmet destination,” explainedDany Michaud, Executive Director, Moisson Montréal.

“Suspended meals offer us a wonderful opportunity to do our part for the community and to use our trucks to help people in need directly. Since we already work on the streets, we are well positioned to understand the very real needs of vulnerable people. We hope that this initiative will expand and that all restaurant owners—not only street food truck owners—will follow suit,” said Gaëlle Cerf, QSFA Vice-President.

 “The City of Montréal is deeply committed to fighting poverty and social exclusion, and has identified food security as a priority field of intervention. We are proud to have Moisson Montréal as a partner in this fight and are convinced that Montrealers will come together to champion their ground-breaking Suspended Meals project,” said Monique Vallée, executive committee member responsible for social and community development and homelessness.

 Payment Method

Moisson Montréal accepts Interac® Debit andcredit card payments thanks to the new Desjardins Monetico Mobile+ payment solution. Adapted to the needs of small businesses and freelancers, this innovative solution transforms smartphones and tablets into a simple, affordable, and secure means of accepting card payments, anytime, anywhere.

 About Moisson Montréal

A non-profit organization founded in 1984, Moisson Montreal is today the largest food bank in Canada. Through its centre for collecting, sorting and distributing emergency food assistance, the organization allocates nearly 1,000 tons of food per month to more than 240 accredited community organizations on the Island of Montreal. In turn, these organizations provide food assistance to 140,000 people, including more than 20,000 children between the ages of 0 and 5. Moisson Montreal receives funding and supplies mainly through donations. Its operations require the collaboration of nearly 8,000 volunteers each year and result in the redistribution of about $75 million worth of groceries annually. For additional information: www.moissonmontreal.org

Interac is a registered trade-mark of Interac Inc. Used under license.

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 For information or interview requests, contact:

 Jessica Drolet
Communications Consultant
514-884-5408
jdrolet@moissonmontreal.org