Several Quebec villages whose church and credit union have closed in recent years are currently struggling to keep their grocery store, an essential service to avoid having to travel dozens of miles to get a simple glass of milk.
• Also read: The first supermarket without employees did not work
There are dozens of Quebec villages that are devitalized and where residents now go into town to shop and fuel their vehicles, often bemoaning the lack of these amenities at home.
Such is the case in the commune of Val-des-Lacs in the Laurentians, which was a food desert for two years after the grocery store closed in 2018.
The gap was filled by the Val-des-Lacs food cooperative, also known as Épicerie Le Saint-Agricole, which is currently very successful.
“The population of the village is aging, the roads are dangerous in winter and the pandemic with its many health restrictions has clearly shown that this local supply is essential for the population of our village. It was an unsustainable situation,” explains Michel Robillard, chairman of the cooperative.
Photo Agency QMI, Simon Dessureault
A food cooperative is created in La Visitation-de-l’Île-Dupas, near Berthierville. In the photo, from left to right, Marie-Pierre Beauséjour, one of the initiators of the cooperative, Laurent Courchesne, former owner of the building, his son Rémi, new owner with his wife Marie-Pier Aubuchon, and Karine Valois, another initiator of the Cooperative.
BACK TO NEIGHBORHOOD GROCERY STORES
“It was fashionable to shop in the city. But I think now people are going back to the neighborhood grocery stores,” notes Rémi Courchesne, whose family for decades ran a grocery store in La Visitation-de-l’Île-Dupas, a small village of 600 people near Berthierville. operated the Lanaudière region.
In addition, the building that housed the grocery store will soon be converted into a grocery store thanks to a citizens’ initiative.
Devitalization as we see it today began attracting attention when churches began to close their doors for lack of believers and when several village credit unions disappeared.
These church and checkout closures seem irreversible and inevitable, but it seems that the same does not apply to convenience stores or small grocery stores in the villages, which are essential services.
Several municipalities have therefore decided to save their convenience store or grocery store threatened with closure through cooperatives or when people have come forward, to everyone’s great relief.
A JOB OPPORTUNITY
“We moved here three years ago because of a job opportunity,” says Consuelo Lara Holster, a registered nurse who has settled with her husband in Blue Sea, Outaouais.
“Neither has any management experience, but this spring I saw the ad for the company for sale. Me and Joey we like projects and we are ambitious. We started it!” she adds.
A revival that is good for the people
Photo agency QMI, Emilie Parent-Bouchard
Kim Brouillard runs the supermarket and petrol station at Moffet in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
One of the most devitalized villages in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Moffet is on the way to getting back on its feet thanks to the revitalization of its supermarket.
Sitting in literally nowhere on the border between Abitibi and Témiscamingue, the small community has seen its school, credit union, supermarket and gas station close their doors over the years.
The municipality bought the former grocery store but entrusted the management to a local entrepreneur.
“People were really happy. They were happy [ne pas] Having to cart 15-20 minutes from one side or the other to buy milk or bread, explains Kim Brouillard, who runs the shop. natural gas too. We all have Skidoos, four-wheelers, small cars!”
The municipal administration also has something to do by making Abitibi and Témiscamingue, has found its way to restore local services to its 210 residents and attracting the attention of villages in similar situations.
“We see this as an incomparable opportunity for revitalization,” pleads Mayor Alexandre Binette, pointing out that in a village where 43.5% of the residents are no longer of working age, we must innovate.
— Émilie Parent-Bouchard QMI Agency
They buy the business to avoid closing it
Photo provided by Consuelo Lara Holster
The couple Joey Hamel and Consuelo Lara Holster and Andréa, Consuelo’s sister, in front of their grocery store.
Residents of a small village in the Outaouais can say thank you to new buyers at their local grocery store, who have avoided the permanent closure of the only business that has been providing basic services to their community for years.
Former owner Yvon Richard’s announcement rocked people at Blue Sea in 2020 when he announced he was closing grocery store Omni Richard.
On a whim, Consuelo Lara Holster and Joey Hamel, an Eastern Township couple who had recently settled in the village, bought the store, which they renamed the Blue Sea Market.
With full-time positions available, the new owners saw an opportunity to bring in Andréa Lara Holster, Consuelo’s sister, as the third owner to look after running the grocery store, having previously worked in management. The trio took possession of the premises on November 4th.
The grocery store is saved, but the reality for Blue Sea residents is far from what it was.
The small village of fewer than 700 permanent residents was once home to three grocery stores, three gas stations, and a few restaurants.
But the resumption of the grocery business gives hope for the revitalization of the village.
“This is excellent news for the community. Everyone is happy about this news. The closure of the facility was a rather disappointing situation,” confided Emmanuelle Michaud, deputy director general of the village.
— Juliette Babin, QMI Agency
A grocery store that has become “the new steps of the church.”
Photo agency QMI, Daniel Deslauriers
Val-des-Lacs, a devitalized village in the Laurentians if ever there was one, is living proof that it is possible to cope with the brain drain of business and services and to thrive with limited resources.
When the village grocery store closed in 2017, a group of volunteers came together to find a way to provide local grocery services to the community.
Until the opening of the Le Saint-Agricole grocery store in December 2020, Val-des-Lacs was considered a food desert.
To date, with the exception of this grocery store, no business has a shop in the heart of the 800-inhabitant village.
“The nearest supermarket is 10 km away towards Sainte-Agathe, in the south […]. The population of the village is aging and the roads are dangerous in winter. It was an unsustainable situation,” explains Michel Robillard, chairman of the board of the cooperative that was set up to create the grocery store.
Today, Le Saint-Agricole has 510 members, employs eight people and offers a few thousand products in a 2,600 square meter area.
Regional products are preferred. The grocery store also sells its own beer, La Saint-Agricole, brewed by the La Veillée microbrewery in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts.
“This grocery store has become something of a meeting place. Some customers say it’s the new church steps over the weekend,” says Mr. Robillard.
— Daniel Deslauriers, QMI Agency
Citizens invited during the fair to form a coop
Screenshot, TVA Nouvelles
The closure of the only grocery store in Saint-David-de-Falardeau in Saguenay is urging elected officials to mobilize their fellow citizens to keep this grocery service deemed essential.
The mayor, Germain Grenon, hoped the Intermarché Falardeau would be bought, but its owners, who had reached retirement age, closed it on November 30.
Concerned, Mr Grenon polled the residents of Saint-David during the following Sunday’s Mass to find out if they wanted a “proper grocery store” with a butcher’s service etc.
“We have a population to do this,” believes this elected official at the head of a community of 2,740 that doubles during tourist season that attracts enthusiasts of hunting, fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, and hiking.
The mayor’s plan? When the population gets involved in starting a food cooperative, the community offers their land in front of the youth center near the village center.
Maintaining this local service is important for the elected officials of this municipality, located about 20 km north of Chicoutimi, especially for those who do not have a car.
“That would belong to the Falardians!” adds the mayor, who pledges to offer the first $100 for membership in this cooperative to encourage people to support the plan.
— Caroline Lepage, QMI Agency