Food Deserts: Over 70 kilometers to do your grocery shopping

A recent survey conducted by the Outaouais Development Observatory highlighted the alarming phenomenon of food deserts.

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This situation has been observed in some urban areas where a supermarket cannot be reached within 1 km and less than 16 km in the rural sector.

This is particularly the case in Mansfields-et-Pontefract, Duhamel, Loo, and Denholm.

The study shows that the accessibility issue is most concerning in the Hull sector, and more specifically on Fournier and Sacre-Coeur streets.

“It's always concerning because it affects some of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods. We're not necessarily surprised because these are issues we've known about for a while,” said Alicia Lacasse Brunet, municipal councilor for the Bellevue area.

In rural areas, especially in the Grand Remus area, we are talking about a persistent problem that is becoming more difficult to solve.

“the people [de Grand-Remous] “People who want to go grocery shopping have to travel at least 70 kilometers round trip to get groceries,” says Grand Remus Mayor Jocelyn Lerette.

According to the stakeholders who gathered, although food banks can solve the problem temporarily, long-term solutions will be necessary.

François Paye, Director General of the Consultation Table on Hunger and Social Development, believes that “the solution lies precisely in the food service points, whether they are companies or supported community organizations.”

– With Charlotte Tremblay