Johnston Group created the Advisor Charitable Match Program to team up with our advisors across the country who are supporting community initiatives that make a difference.
November 2024
Food insecurity attacks the most basic of a person’s needs. For Guy Pelletier, it wasn’t hard to get behind Carrefour d’Initiatives Populaires, which promotes access to healthy food for all while contributing to the development of a sustainable food system in the region of Rivière-du-Loup, QC.
“This organization helps families in need who are struggling to put food on the table during these difficult economic times, and that means a lot to us,” explains Guy.
The impact of the pandemic, inflation, and a 24% increase in clients requiring food assistance services over the last year bring their share of challenges for this kind of organization. The organization has been facing space issues for several years and food handling has therefore become a major challenge. They have a renovation and construction project in place to address this.
Guy Pelletier of Services Financiers Richard April et Associés Inc. is Rivière-du-Loup’s local advisor for Chambers Plan employee benefits, and Johnston Group, the plan’s administrator, was happy to match his financial contribution.
Carrefour d’Initiatives Populaires is also an accredited food recovery organization and has been able to redistribute and cook 98% of the food and surplus crops it has collected from individuals and farmers. In 2024 alone, the organization redistributed over 4 tonnes of food to the community.
“Last year, they created a new service called ‘Frigos Partagés MRC Rivière-du-Loup’ (shared fridges), which can be found in 13 locations throughout the area,” says Guy. “People can drop off food in these fridges and those in need can take what they need. There’s a Facebook and web page for this service.”
Carrefour d’Initiatives Populaires is continuing its efforts and working to involve more people from the community in its organization. It also raises awareness about poverty and its impact on the lives of community members. In short, Carrefour d’Initiatives Populaires promotes the maintenance and development of initiatives with the constant goal of helping low-income people in the region.
