One month before its Christmas basket distribution, the Longueuil community organization Action Nouvelle Vie had hundreds of kilos of meat stolen over the past weekend.
The food was in an outdoor trailer connected to the organization’s building.
During the nights of Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday, thieves with electric bikes and small trailers showed up at the organization’s premises on Saint-Charles Street East.
They broke down the barricade erected around the Action Nouvelle Vie trailer, cut the padlocks and stole between 300 and 400 kilos of meat, the organization said. The stolen food, with an estimated total value of $10,000, was intended for Christmas hampers to be distributed on December 18 to more than 2,200 families in need.
The thugs sorted the meat to transport “choice” pieces such as chicken breasts, beef and smoked meat. They made several trips back and forth over the two nights of the weekend.
Action Nouvelle Vie staff noticed the theft when they returned to work Monday morning.
“It’s shocking and upsetting,” said the organization’s head of communications, Jérémie Olivier, in an interview.
The latter indicated that his organization, which has been operating since 1993, is used to receiving nocturnal visitors who occasionally come to steal clothing or other items. Last weekend’s meat theft was, however, “never seen before,” says Mr. Olivier.
Hope and generosity
Despite everything, the Action Nouvelle Vie team wants to look forward and remains hopeful of being able to renew its inventory in order to fill its 2,200 Christmas baskets.
The organization, which also helps 1,000 families each week, must also distribute 3,000 gifts on December 18.
Since this heinous theft, several citizens affected by the organization’s distress have shown generosity by making donations, notes Jérémie Olivier.
“The response from the community is super positive,” emphasizes the latter.
Moreover, anyone wishing to support the organization can do so via the following link: https://actionnv.com/partage-ton-noel-2024/
For Action Nouvelle Vie, this episode adds to the many challenges it must face. After having to work very hard to remain open during the pandemic, the organization saw the demand for food assistance increase by 50% over the last two years.
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