The Media Food Drive:
More essential than ever

The 20th edition of the campaign takes place until December 24 and you are invited to give

Despite the present challenges, the 20th edition of the Media Food Drive takes place from November 23 to December 24 and WestmountMag is proud to help promote this cause. Recent months have been tough for thousands of Quebecers, which makes the support provided by the campaign more important than ever.

An exclusive survey, released on November 30, reports that one in five people have had to reduce their portions or skip a meal, one in three Quebecers have had to feed a loved one since March 2020, and 22% of Quebecers have been in a situation of food insecurity, including 8% at a severe rate.

… one in five people have had to reduce their portions or skip a meal, one in three Quebecers have had to feed a loved one since March 2020, and 22% of Quebecers have been in a situation of food insecurity, including 8% at a severe rate.

How to give

Quebecers will be able to take their donations to 380 Jean Coutu pharmacies, 199 Maxi and Provigo supermarkets as well as Via Capitale Real Estate Broker offices. These Friends of the Media Food Drive will accept donations of non-perishable food, personal hygiene products and cash. You can also make a donation through the Media Food Drive website (tax receipts will be issued for contributions of $20 or more) or by texting XMAS to 20222 for a contribution of $10.

A new way to give

The traditional street collection has been postponed until 2021, but an initiative in collaboration with Desjardins has been launched 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.

December 3: A day of solidarity

To compensate for the temporary absence of the street collection, the media will make a sustained effort to raise awareness on Thursday, December 3, a day of solidarity. They’ll highlight the issue of food insecurity throughout the day, informing the public about the problem of hunger and encouraging generosity. In addition, businesses, organizations and citizens will be asked to mobilize, collect donations and show their creativity.

‘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.’

A landmark occasion

This is the 20th edition of the Media Food Drive. The event was launched in November 2001 to consolidate the collections of various media and maximize efficiency. The first street collection took place on December 13. The late actress Rita Lafontaine was the spokesperson. Sixteen media outlets took part in the collection, which was held only in the Montreal area, raising $392,834.70.

2020: 20 years, 20 spokespeople

To mark its 20th edition, the Media Food Drive is calling on 20 personalities to act as spokespeople. They’ll discuss food insecurity and the many problems related to hunger on various platforms. In addition, they’ll encourage Quebecers, who are able to contribute, to help the disadvantaged. The spokespeople were chosen because of their extensive influence on social networks: Rita Baga, Marina Bastarache, Bob Le Chef, Brigitte Boisjoli, Mike Clay, Marie-Ève Cotton, Manal Drissi, Nicolas Duvernois, Geneviève Everell, Ingrid Falaise, Jean-Marc Généreux, Jean-Sébastien Girard, Jessica Harnois, Anik Jean, Katherine Levac, Livia Martin, Geneviève O’Gleman, Alex Perron, Guillaume Pineault and Isabelle Racicot.

Moving, evocative images

An advertising campaign designed by the Montreal agency Tam-Tam\TBWA will run until December 24. With the Gift List as its theme, the campaign emotionally conveys the immense distress of people whose only request is to eat properly.

Feature image: Christina Hendricks via StockPholio.net

The Media Food Drive is the only cause organized and supported by approximately 100 media outlets in Quebec. Since its inception in 2001, the collection has raised more than $45 million and thousands of kilos of food for over 100 food banks and other organizations in the province. The operation is held during the Holiday period, but also when the economic need arises, as it did at the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. The Media Food Drive organized an emergency campaign to respond to the crisis that raised $1.2 million. guignolee.ca