The Media Food Drive

The Media Food Drive (MFD) began in Montreal in December 2001, with the collaboration of 16 members of the media. Starting on December 9, 2004, media organizations from the Suroît region followed in the footsteps of Quebec’s urban centres in organizing the first edition in Salaberry-de-Valleyfied in partnership with the founding members: CEZinc, CogecoTV (NousTV), Journal Saint-François, Journal Le Soleil and MAX103. As early as the second edition, the MFD grew; in 2005, the City of Beauharnois authorized a site during the event. In 2006, Coteau-du-Lac joined the effort. The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion rallied with the group in 2008, with the participation of VIVA Media. Finally, the City of Huntingdon provided a collection site. This coalition now allows for the implementation of over ten collection sites in the 3 RCM serviced by this organization. To this day, an amount of over $1,1M was raised. This amount comes primarily from the donations of citizens we meet in the streets who, each year, on the first Thursday of the month of December, share their generosity with the community.

This year, there will be a web campaign from November 23rd to December 24th. It goes without saying that the needs are increasing due to the pandemic. In October, we noted a 28% increase in the quantities of food distributed. We are thus looking for people’s generosity to help others in need.

A non-perishable food drive is also organized across the regional county municipalities (MRC) of Beauharnois-Salaberry, Vaudreuil-Soulanges and Haut-Saint-Laurent. The purpose of this campaign is to collect food, but also to engage with the organizations of our community. This year, we will be collecting food donations in schools, from November 9th to December 4th, and in other organizations, from November 23rd to December 24th.

The most important food items in 2020 are: sanitary napkins, deodorant, quick meals (soups, kraft dinner, etc.), tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, peanut butter, jams, healthy snacks in single portions, toilet paper and shampoo.

Double your donation

video link

The traditional street collection has been postponed until 2021, but we’ve launched an initiative in collaboration with Desjardins to make up for some or all of the potential losses in donations. Through its Double your impact program, offered on the La Ruche crowdfunding platform, Desjardins will match donations up to a maximum of $1 million for all of Quebec, including nearly $500,000 for the Media Food Drive. The funds will be distributed to local organizations across the province.

Thank you to the following organizations :

Feuillet d’information – Écoles (french only)
Feuillet d’information – Entreprises & autres établissements (french only)