Context
The Association des marchés publics du Québec (AMPQ) invited the Centre for Social Innovation in Agriculture (CISA) to support its plan to design and implement a Québec‑wide food voucher program, an initiative included in its most recent action plan.
Food vouchers are purchase credits given to vulnerable individuals, and are intended for use within local food supply chains—typically at public markets. They help connect participants with local agri‑food producers and processors in their regions.
Similar programs already exist in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia, where they are managed by provincial farmers’ market associations in collaboration with community organizations that distribute the vouchers to eligible recipients.
Currently, no province‑wide program of this type exists in Québec. However, the idea has sparked strong interest from AMPQ members as well as actors involved in food security and local food systems across the province. According to the Observatoire québécois des inégalités, about one million people in Québec experience food insecurity each year. Research is clear: financial measures that increase the purchasing power of people in precarious situations are essential to effectively address food insecurity.
In Québec, a few initiatives of this kind exist, primarily in Montréal. Since they remain relatively isolated and largely urban, this project intends to consolidate those efforts and to examine the potential to extend their reach to other parts of Québec, especially rural regions.
Conseil de recherche en sciences humaines du Canada (CRSH)