“Lucky that there are places like that that exist. »
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Chantal Desrosiers is relieved. Yesterday, she missed food from her food bank because she had medical appointments. Today, she can happily count on the 3 baskets grocery store to get her hands on products at low prices.
She shows me the Greek yogurt, bananas and tomatoes she has chosen.
“I can’t work, life is expensive and there is no supermarket near us… It’s not easy. Here, at least, I can buy quality products! Besides, it’s just the second time I’ve been here and I was recognized right away. »
Chantal is one of the many residents of the Centre-Sud district who have fallen in love with the popular grocery store. We understand it: 3 baskets is an affordable market open to everyone where you can find meat, fruit and vegetables, rice, pasta, preserves, cheeses, milk… The same as in any small grocery store.
What distinguishes the establishment from others is that any product has three prices, and it is up to the customer to decide which one to pay.
First, there is the solidarity price, for tight budgets. The item is then sold at a loss or with a minimal profit margin.
Then, the suggested price, that is, the one that allows the business to survive as a social economy enterprise.
Finally, the “next-to-next” price. In this case, the customer pays a little more to help make the solidarity price as accessible as possible.
The innovative formula meets a need expressed many times by residents: an affordable grocery store was absolutely necessary in the neighborhood. Not only was it a food desert, but with the rising cost of living, more and more people were struggling to feed themselves.
“We’ve been hearing a lot of comments on this subject for a few months,” explains Marie-Claude Morin Ouellet, co-general manager of the grocery store. “We have more frequent requests for help and troubleshooting…”
If we can only salute the creation of a trade that takes care to fight food insecurity, we can still wonder who ultimately has the responsibility of managing such a serious and pressing issue…
“Food insecurity is a problem that has many dimensions, but whose root is poverty,” answers Marie-Claude Morin Ouellet. Can we do much against poverty? No. The report Beyond Hunger, by Community Centers of Canada, makes several recommendations that we fully support. Basically, governments need to provide support programs. »
And not only food support programs, but also access to housing, the co-director explains to me. When the majority of your pay goes on your rent, it’s in the grocery store that you cut. Same thing if you are juggling daycare costs that are too high for your budget or any other incompressible expense.
While waiting for the fight against poverty to become a political priority, as Chantal Desrosiers says; “Lucky that there are places like [3 paniers] that exist “…
Is the model viable, though?
“It’s a test! If it is not, in the long term, we will adjust, ”replies the co-director general of the place.
The grocery store only opened on January 25. It is a little early to draw up a balance sheet. For the moment, thanks to the subsidies, the help of volunteer workers (the team is always looking for some, if ever!), then the good balance between the customers who benefit from the solidarity price and those who choose the highest, the experience is promising.
* * *
I observe the rays.
The quality of what you find there impresses me. Several local products in particular caught my attention — I will definitely leave with these frozen Quebec strawberries.
Kim Cinq-Mars, co-general manager of commerce, explains to me that customer suggestions greatly influence what we find on the shelves. Both to satisfy them and to avoid waste. We recently added frozen salad, cereals and several types of milk, for example. We also offer single eggs, which is rare in grocery stores, but which can be very practical for a single person on a limited budget…
Then, at the beginning of April, a whole new section will be launched at the 3 baskets. Twice a week, 100 free meals will be served at community dinners.
But where are people going to settle?
Marie-Claude Morin Ouellet reminds me of the ingenious design of the place: pretty wooden folding chairs hang on the walls. The product displays are equipped with retractable stools. In a minute, they can be transformed into large refectory tables. Brilliant!
The other novelty that will be rolled out in April is the sale of prepared meals, prepared in the kitchen of the grocery store (premises that already host collective kitchen groups and francization students who learn our language while cooking).
We want to adapt to our environment. There are several seniors’ residences in the area and it is believed that prepared meals could give a good helping hand to the people who live there.
Marie-Claude Morin Ouellet
The 3-basket grocery store aims to be flexible, designed for its people, useful…
“We are located in a neighborhood that is becoming very gentrified. For more affluent customers, buying here is a way of creating a chain of solidarity and contributing to the well-being of the community… We want to create a space where people meet, where everyone feels at home. square. »
Marie-Claude Morin Ouellet takes a break and smiles.
“I have a deep attachment to the neighborhood. I believe in what we do. »
Me too, I believe in it. After seeing the eyes of the customers, it’s hard to do otherwise, in fact.