Publi reportage

Aylmer Food Centre, looks back on successful year despite Covid-19

Despite dealing with dauting social and economic hardships imposed by the pandemic, the Aylmer Food Centre’s (CAA) Director General Gérard Émond feels grateful looking back on a successful year of community service and organizational growth.

“It was a very positive year for the centre and for our families and the community,” Émond said. “There’s no doubt about it.”

Seeing the CAA adjust its way of doing things and the local population doubling down its dedicated support of its services in response to the crisis, Émond told the Aylmer Bulletin that the food bank is in a solid position approaching the back nine of Covid-19.

“It’s unreal how beautiful it was,” Émond said, highlighting the unrelenting support of Aylmer residents, local organizations, and partners, including Moisson Outaouais, Centraide Outaouais, and the Centre intégré de la santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais. “Collectively, it was a colossal effort because there were so many concerns in all this.”

For Émond, the top priority during the pandemic was for the food bank to stay open at all costs and for none of its employees and volunteers to be infected – both successes - stating that he’s thankful to remain fully in service to the community.

“If this centre exists, it’s because of its volunteers … and the generosity of citizens,” Émond said, encouraging people to support the CAA any way they can. “If one of those two elements is missing, the centre is in great difficulty.”

He added that, for a variety of reasons, numerous families the food bank supported in 2020, no longer depended on the organization this year; while at the same time, a large number of families added themselves to the CAA’s service list in 2021.

“Is it attributable to Covid-19? It’s possible,” Émond said. “But what we are certain of and that we are very happy about is that our families benefitted from very good food donations, as much in their quality as in quantity.”

Delighted to support people who need it in tough times, Émond said he feels very gratified knowing that the families the CAA supports are incredibly appreciative of its services.

On September 2 at 7, at the Aydelu Centre, the CAA will hold its annual general meeting to discuss the happenings, accomplishments, and financial statements of the previous fiscal year, and the election of its new administrative board members.