GENEROSITY. The principle is simple: in a wooden box identified by the Croc Bouffe organization, passers-by can add food and place it in the box anonymously to help their neighbor. Without judgment, whoever needs it opens the door of the box to select one or more foods.
It was Montrealer Mael Lalancette who founded the non-profit organization Croc bouffe about three years ago. No less than 14 cities in Quebec have their Croc Bouffe, which totals 55 active boxes.
In Shawinigan, there are three boxes: at the Shawinigan-Sud Metro, behind the IGA Extra near Antoine-St-Onge park, and near the Pizza Hut.
Mr. Lalancette had seen such a concept in Europe, and he gave himself the mission of implementing it in Quebec. I thought it was a good idea to help combat food insecurity. I originally set up three boxes to install them in three neighborhoods in Montreal. The concept was so well received that I decided to take it further. The more I installed, the more people asked for them. The problem of food insecurity is not only in Montreal when we see the statistics across Quebec. The world is as hungry in La Tuque, Louiseville, Shawinigan or Sherbrooke. Needs are everywhere, and a wooden box is easy to make, and easy to maintain. »
It was during the weekend of June 8 that new boxes were installed in Louiseville, La Tuque, Berthierville and Sainte-Rose in Lac-Saint-Jean.
Does the kind soul ask permission from municipalities before installing a Croc Bouffe? “For the moment, I’m going on the principle that it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. The only place I had problems was in Anjou. Even Hydro-Québec calls me when work is necessary on a pole to be able to move the box. Even employees even give me suggestions for a better place to install it. When I receive a request from Hydro-Québec, the box is moved within three days throughout Quebec. »
“We think it’s just non-perishable items that people can add, but I’ve already seen a frozen filet mignon in one of my boxes in the winter,” says Mael.
A long journey down the street
Today, the Montrealer has children, a partner, a job, but that was not always the case.
Less than 10 years ago, he was on the streets with a heavy heroin addiction.
“I was a young person from the DPJ (Youth Protection Directorate), I found myself in the street like several young people like me. I have experienced hunger, consumption problems, I know the situation of people in need. It was at 32 that I stopped drugs and alcohol and started to settle down. At 38, I have a wife, a child, I have rebuilt my life, and I have a job. I knew I wasn’t a unique case, but I didn’t know how endemic food insecurity is in Quebec. »
