Estrie food banks
directors of Les Producteurs de bovins de l’estrie immediately agreed to donate the first $2,500, which then snowballed,” explained André Tessier, a cattle producer in Wotton and president of Les Producteurs de bovins de l’estrie.
The contribution was added to those of the Fédération de l’upa-estrie, des Agricultrices de l’estrie, the Syndicat de la relève agricole de l’estrie and the Syndicat local de L’UPA du Val-st-françois et de Sherbrooke.
All the meat comes from the Boucherie Face de Boeuf, which also contributed to the joint donation.
Food banks and other organizations providing food to the less fortunate are in great need of help in this time of pandemic that is turning the lives of the entire population upside down. Moisson Estrie knows where the needs are and will be able to distribute the donation among its network of 47 organizations served throughout the Estrie region.
“In these times of crisis, it’s beautiful to see how closely the people of Estrie are pulling together. This generous donation of meat will allow us to feed many families who are experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic,” commented Geneviève Côté, Executive Director of Moisson Estrie.
Other unions affiliated with the Upa-estrie have chosen to donate local products directly to the food bank in their area. This is the case for the local unions of the UPA du Hautst-françois, des Sources and Coaticook. The Éleveurs de porcs de l’estrie also directed their meat donations directly to the food banks in the seven MRCS of the Estrie region. In total, $12,550 has been or will be donated in the coming days in food donations from Estrie agricultural producers, in addition to individual donations from producers regularly sent to food banks.
“The Union des producteurs agricoles and its affiliates have always been active in supporting food banks. The exceptional situation requires an extra effort and we are responding,” added François Bourassa, a dairy and maple syrup producer in Valcourt and president of the Upa-estrie federation.