Winter basket initiative tackles food insecurity on Montreal’s West Island
Posted December 18, 2025 7:34 pm.
Last Updated December 18, 2025 8:09 pm.
A non-profit organization is helping Montreal’s West Islanders fight food insecurity with their winter basket initiative.
Running from December all the way to April, Corbeille de Pain’s Winter Basket initiative serves a dual purpose – supporting both local farmers and community members on Montreal’s West Island who are facing food insecurity.
“In the summer, we work with 16 farms,” says Emma McLaughlin, marketing manager of Corbeille de Pain. “Right now, for the winter baskets, we’re working with four different farms so far.”
Buyers can choose a small or large baskets filled with fresh, local and 100 per cent organic vegetables like cabbage, carrots, beets, potatoes and much more. They can also subscribe to various weekly or monthly delivery options.
For those who cannot afford the price of a basket, subsidized baskets are available at half price, according to McLaughlin.
“That’s paid for by those who get the regular baskets,” McLaughlin explained. “So in a way, it’s able to help fellow communities by getting a basket.”
McLaughlin says the initiative addresses an issue that’s often ignored due to assumptions about the West Island.
“A lot of people assume that because it’s the West Island, people think it’s the suburbs, people are rich, but there’s a huge diversity of people who live in the West Island, and a lot of people are food insecure,” McLaughlin explains.
Employees and volunteers get together at Les Jardins Carya every Thursday, to pack all the baskets and a recipe in each and then go out for delivery, free of charge, anywhere in the West Island.
McLaughlin says the feedback has been great since the launch.
“Just after the first week, I got three different emails saying how impressed people were with the quantity of food that they received, with the quality as well.”
