Food self-sufficiency: Quebec launches a $12 challenge

If each family exchanged $12 in foreign food purchases each week for Quebec food, demand from Quebec farmers, fishermen, and food processors could increase by $1 billion annually. With a $12 challenge, Legault Government invites consumers to buy food here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made us realize the importance of increasing our food independence. We are fortunate to rely on diverse products at competitive prices. By exchanging $12 each week in food purchases from elsewhere for $12 in vital food products from here, we are contributing not only to the financial health of our local businesses, but also to the economic recovery of our cities and towns. Our regions are all over Quebec,” the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, André Lamontane, said in a press release issued on Saturday.

The $12 Challenge aims to boost the economy and the vital food sector, but also to show that “in most cases, it is easy for consumers to find the Quebec equivalent of an imported product, on an equal footing.”

It was launched in November 2020, after the Legault government announced an investment of $157 million to boost food self-sufficiency in the county.

According to figures from Quebec, the gross domestic product of Quebec’s biofood sector is $29 billion, which is 8% of the province’s GDP and more than 532,500 jobs.

In 2019, half of all purchases by consumers and food establishments in Quebec were made from Quebec suppliers.