Holiday basket distribution aims to meet growing food insecurity in Montreal, Moisson Montréal says
Posted December 12, 2025 2:45 pm.
Last Updated December 12, 2025 6:43 pm.
With food assistance needs reaching historic levels, Moisson Montréal is preparing to distribute 42,000 holiday baskets as part of its first-ever Holiday Mega Distribution, an effort meant to support families struggling through rising costs and the holiday shutdown of food banks.
The event took place on Friday, where volunteers, partners and community groups formed a symbolic human chain to load the baskets onto trucks headed to local organizations.
Rising need across the city
Food insecurity has climbed sharply in recent years, and Moisson Montréal says the pressures of inflation continue to push more people toward food assistance.
Matias Duque, director of philanthropy for Moisson Montréal, says the biggest driver is the cost of living.
He explained that requests for food help have surged, saying, “The cost of living has gone up quite sharply. We’ve seen over the last four years a 54 per cent increase in food requests. So that’s its major.”
Duque said families with modest or fixed incomes are being squeezed hardest, adding, “Wages have not gone up as fast as these items. So unfortunately, we’re seeing a lot more people go into food banks. So we’re hearing food assistance requests have now passed one million a month.”
What the surge looks like on the ground
Moisson Montréal distributes food to hundreds of community agencies, and Duque says the current demand is overwhelming for the groups serving families directly.
He described it this way: “1.1 million people a month, that’s the equivalent of two Bell Centres every single day. So there’s a lot of work.”
Holiday baskets to fill the gap
Because Moisson Montréal and many community agencies close for several days during the holidays, the organization says the special distribution ensures families have enough food when services pause.
“This holiday basket drive is really to bring food to people so that they have food at home during those days where it’s harder to get it because food banks are going to be closed,” Duque said,
Each box weighs 10 kilograms and is filled with essential foods.
Listing items, Duque said, “Some of the items that are in the boxes are rice, pasta, we have spaghetti sauce, we have meatball stew, we have peanut butter, there’s popcorn in there too… crackers, cookies. There’s over 22 pounds of food in every single box.”
He said the focus is on providing staple foods with high nutritional value, explaining, “We’re not looking so much into snacks, but a lot more into heavier foods such as rice and pasta and… kidney beans.”
Volunteers driving the effort
Hundreds of volunteers helped prepare the baskets, including longtime volunteer Daniel Handfield. He has been volunteering every Friday since 2012.
Handfield said the mission is simple: “It’s a way to give back to society. A lot of people need short on food and we help them. We save tons and tons of meat and other goods every week.”
He said he’s watched the need grow steadily, adding, “More and more need for food.”
For him, participating in the holiday distribution is deeply meaningful.
“It means to be part of the beautiful project. To give back to society… The basic need is to eat and have a roof and then eat… I have to get back to this Quebec society.”
Human chain to mark first edition
Friday’s event also featured a friendly cooking challenge led by chef and Moisson Montréal spokesperson Stefano Faita, using ingredients included in this year’s holiday basket.
Moisson Montréal says the goal is not only to distribute food, but to show solidarity at a time when demand keeps rising.
Community groups will also be out delivering baskets to families the same day.
