The strike at Canada Post is blocking the postal campaign from which 70% of donations come, weakening the 163rd Saint-Vincent-de-Paul food drive officially launched Saturday morning in Quebec.
In a context where demand for food aid is growing, the situation worries the organization’s leaders.
“We are in a critical situation,” lamented the president of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Jean-Luc Lavoie during a press briefing at the IGA Coop in Sainte-Foy.
Since November 15, the postal workers’ union (STTP) has announced a national strike which has caused the majority of postal services to stop.
For the food drive, this means that it is impossible to carry out the usual postal campaign
“That means that people who give year after year are not going to receive [l’invitation à donner] this year and will not be able to send it back,” explains the president of the SSVPQ.
For them, it is therefore important that the conflict is resolved. “ [La guignolée] is essential for many families in need. We have no cushion to allow ourselves not to receive these amounts. “, he says.
Elected officials Jean-Yves Duclos and Pascal Paradis were present alongside the president of the SSVPQ, Jean-Luc Lavoie at the launch of the 163rd edition of the food drive
DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
Food insecurity is increasing
In 2023, contributions to the Quebec food drive, which covers the greater Quebec and Chaudière-Appalaches region, will approach $800,000. This amount was able to provide more than 10,000 Christmas baskets to nearly 33,000 people in need.
This year, the goal is to raise more than $900,000 in donations, in order to meet the needs of nearly 40,000 people. “33,000 beneficiaries in a year which increases to 40,000, we realize to what extent food insecurity is very present in the greater Quebec region,” illustrates Jean-Luc Lavoie.
“The help from Moisson Québec is precious, it is important, but it is insufficient in a context where the need is enormous,” he adds.
Modernization of donations
At the grocery store exit, in addition to the classic cans and Christmas stockings to collect donations, this year, an electronic payment system is also used to collect money.
All you have to do is tap your credit card on the device and an automatic donation of $5 will be given to the food drive.
“It’s an observation that fewer and fewer people have money on them,” explains Jean-Luc Lavoie. “We tried the system at Children’s Christmas a few weeks ago and it worked very well.”
DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
The organization also relies heavily on online donations to offset the losses caused by the Canada Post strike.
Need volunteers
With the growing number of baskets to offer, Saint-Vincent de Paul is also looking for volunteers to distribute them.
DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
Saturday morning, several volunteers, older and younger, were on site at the exit of the IGA to collect donations. Volunteers will also be in some grocery stores in the Quebec region this Sunday as well as next weekend if everything goes as planned.
