Published on October 12, 2022
Leading by example!
The 4th edition of the event Les institutions mangent local! took place from September 19 to 23, 2022. Aliments du Québec au menu invited institutions across Quebec to take both small and large actions within their communities to celebrate products from Quebec. To mark this annual event, a series of five articles was developed in collaboration with HRImag to highlight institutions that took part in the movement.
This first profile features Cégep de Victoriaville.
The berries and vegetables grown by students studying agriculture at the Cégep de Victoriaville’s teaching farm disappeared very quickly during activities organized by the Centre d’innovation sociale en agriculture (CISA) as part of the project Plus d’ici dans nos cafétérias! (“More local food in our cafeterias!”).
“The CEGEP plays a dual role,” explains Denis Deschamps, Director General of Cégep de Victoriaville. “CISA, one of our research centers, leads the initiative, so we are promoters. But we are also participants. We have a contracted food service provider, Coopsco Victoriaville, who did remarkable work during this special event, assisted by our sustainability advisor.”
“We are a higher education institution that offers training in agriculture. Sustainable development is one of our institutional values—it’s central to our mission and vocation. We didn’t hesitate to join this project because we’ve already been taking action in this direction for years.”
— Denis Deschamps, Director General of Cégep de Victoriaville
The Coopsco Victoriaville food service, recognized by the Aliments du Québec au menu program thanks to its rigorous tracking of the CEGEP’s food purchases, took advantage of the themed week to serve appealing dishes such as delicious apple crisp, summer spaghetti, beet salad, and irresistible coleslaw.
Meanwhile, agriculture students set up an information booth and conducted a survey to evaluate the interest of people attending the institution in seeing more local foods featured on the menu.
“These young people are very involved and aware of the importance of local food,” adds Véronique Allard, Assistant Project Manager at CISA. “They also grow and provide fruits and vegetables produced in greenhouses during the colder months. This aligns with the direction of our research: transforming today’s challenges into innovative solutions.”
CISA: A Hub for Agriculture and the Agri-Food Sector
Facing challenges such as climate change, accelerated biodiversity loss, and labor shortages—all major issues for Quebec’s agri-food sector—CISA is directing its research toward new avenues such as territorial food systems, socio-ecological transition, and northern agriculture.
“Current agricultural challenges are translated into concrete actions in the field. Agriculture students strongly believe in this idea and help promote it,” says Véronique Allard. “Talking about it is important. We also had a mobile booth run by the CEGEP library offering books about local food that people could borrow.”
From left to right: Véronique Allard, Assistant Project Manager at CISA; Maryse Cormier, Head Chef at Coopsco Victoriaville; Denis Deschamps, Director General of Cégep de Victoriaville; and Pierre Beauregard, Director General of Coopsco Victoriaville.
The leadership of Cégep de Victoriaville described the Les institutions mangent local! event as stimulating and encouraging, but for the institution, it represents only a starting point.
“The work won’t stop there because there is still much to do,” concludes the Director General. “We want to set more ambitious targets, given the positive response and the pride felt by our teams. Logistics remain a challenge, especially for long-term local sourcing, but it is possible to build a strong supply chain.”
“We will continue over time, strengthen our brand, and share the results of this experience with other educational institutions so they can benefit from what we’ve achieved.”
— Denis Deschamps, Director General of Cégep de Victoriaville
The event Les institutions mangent local! is an initiative of the Aliments du Québec au menu program (developed by Aliments du Québec and Équiterre, with the support of the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) in collaboration with the 100% Local Challenge.
