Stage report 1: Co-design of a local, sustainable and solidarity-based food cycle in Montreal

This report is in reference to stage one of the project entitled Démarche de coconception du cycle alimentaire local, durable et solidaire à Montréal, carried out during the spring and summer of 2023. 

Based on the observation that a number of existing and emerging initiatives in Montreal are working towards realizing components of the SALIM vision, the co-design approach was developed with the goal of identifying together how to consolidate and link these existing pieces of the puzzle. Through cross-sector mobilization and joint ideation, this approach seeks to identify synergies or missing links in the current food system, and to imagine together solutions to be built or strengthened with a view to increasing efficiency and consolidating the local, sustainable and solidarity-based supply cycle in Montreal. The approach is thus part of a collective logic that supports the resilience of the food supply chain, initiated by the « Zero Hunger » approach in Montreal in 2018-2019.

The scope is the Montreal food system, which includes the supply and marketing of food from Quebec to Montreal and, consequently, local production in Quebec, with production in and around Montreal (particularly in the West Island) as the starting point.

The innovative aspect of this approach is that it focuses systemically on strengthening the links between several initiatives from different functions of the supply cycle, rather than on strengthening the initiatives themselves. This report is organized around two activities between partners and collaborators: the consultation event for change agents on the ideation and consolidation of the Montreal food cycle, and the mini-workshop held following Webinar 5 of the Conversations on local and solidarity food supply. It highlights avenues for collective ideation: these ideas, emerging from a variety of perspectives, deserve to be explored in greater depth collectively. In pursuing this approach, we have chosen to invest our energy and resources in two of these promising areas which represent concrete opportunities to drive significant change within the Montreal food system.

Read the Report

This document in only available in French

We invite you to express your interest and commitment to taking part in the continuation of this collective ideation. Your contribution is invaluable in shaping together a more resilient, more inclusive and more sustainable food system for all Montrealers.

We would like to warmly thank the participants of the March 30, 2023 workshop, our collaborators and our partners for their involvement and trust in this major project.

This project is part of the Local and Integrated Food System in Montreal (SALIM) program, a multi-partner program led by Collectif Récolte with funding from Montreal in common. Montreal in common is a project piloted by the City of Montréal as part of the Smart Cities Challenge made possible with the financial support of the Government of Canada.