This is the story of the closing of a neighborhood grocery store that produced a food desert, but also an impressive chain of community and citizen mobilization.
Recently, residents of the Youville neighborhood were invited to a barbecue to discuss a basic need: food close to home. You don’t know Youville? Little known, the neighborhood of the borough of Ahunstic-Cartierville is landlocked from Highway 40 to the Sauvé train station, between Henri-Julien Park and Saint-Hubert Street.
If Youville is located between two eldorados of local shops – Villeray and rue Fleury – the closure of the Marché Tradition last January created a shock wave for the neighborhood. Overnight, it became impossible to go grocery shopping on foot, unless you walk 20 minutes. “You have to think about people with reduced mobility, seniors, single-parent families and those who don’t have a car,” argues Marie-Josée Dupuis, member of the Youville Citizen Committee.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Marie-Josee Dupuis
“It’s a lot of organization and it complicates things,” laments Emmanuelle Lapointe-Rioux, who was at the barbecue with her 7 and 8-year-old daughters, and who works on 12-hour shifts. “When I run out of eggs and milk, I pay high prices at the convenience store. “And if a car shared part-time with the father of her children allows her to go to Costco, she lost a good part of her provisions during the recent episode of ice storm.
For her part, Marie-Josée Dupuis drags a large shopping bag near her work downtown. On weekends, she goes by Communauto to Fruiterie 440 in Anjou. She can no longer indulge in what is an advantage of city life: day-to-day shopping. “Everyone has their own strategies, but you have to think about all the portfolios,” she emphasizes.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The old Tradition Market on rue Lajeunesse
The old Tradition Market did not look like much at 9150, rue Lajeunesse, but it was an essential business. A petition is in progress so that Sobeys, which rents the building, informs its former customers of the continuation of the things, whether it is a closing or renovations.
Sobeys is a corporate citizen. We want the company to inform us of its intentions. Employees learned of the closing without notice. It was quite dramatic.
Marie-Josée Dupuis, neighborhood resident
However, Anne-Hélène Lavoie, spokesperson for Sobeys, confirmed to us that the closure will be final. “After evaluation and analysis, given the significant costs related to the building and equipment, the decision not to reopen the store has been made,” she said by email.
Food autonomy
During the barbecue, there were representatives of several organizations and citizen initiatives. Céline Pelcé, for example, came to publicize a community purchasing group of which she is a member along with other Mile End families. “We buy in bulk, so we save money,” she explains. We have developed a computer tool and a guide. »
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The message announcing the closing displayed on the door.
We also chatted with Tania Sharkey, General Manager of Marchés Ahuntsic-Cartierville (MAC), a social economy organization that wants to make fresh, local fruits and vegetables accessible – physically and economically – to as many people as possible.
The MAC are carrying out several projects, including the market at the Sauvé metro exit (from June to November), as well as a mobile circuit in parks and seniors’ residences located in areas with little food supply.
As soon as the Tradition Market closed, Tania Sharkey reached out to the Youville Citizen Committee.
The revitalization of rue Lajeunesse
“When we launched the committee, we were mainly mobilized around mobility issues. There was no REV yet and rue Lajeunesse was a treeless race track,” says Marie-Josée Dupuis.
The closure of the Marché Tradition has hindered the revitalization project for rue Lajeunesse, which is nevertheless progressing slowly but surely.
The La jeune mischievous bar opened last year, when the Solon organization inaugurated the Espace despossibles, a community space where there are a lot of activities, such as the barbecue we attended, or bike repair shops.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Daphne Le Templier, from the Solon organization
“There are a lot of vacant premises on rue Lajeunesse, but we are involved with the borough in the creation of a mixed commercial association with citizens and merchants,” says Daphné Le Templier, coordinator of socio-ecological transition projects at Solon.
While waiting for the opening of local shops such as a simple bakery, citizen projects have been multiplying in Youville for a few years. Last year, a collective garden was inaugurated at the corner of rue Louvain and rue Millen. This is without taking into account the Station Youville project, which for the past two years has transformed the landing stage of the Christ-Roi primary school into an ephemeral summer public square. On the program: market, street food, outdoor cinema, children’s activities, ice cream truck, etc. “We were not on the cultural circuit of the parks. There isn’t even a creamery in the neighborhood,” says Marie-Josée Dupuis.
Which entrepreneur to jump at the chance?
The Youville district in dates
- 1929 : Construction of the church of Saint-Alphonse-d’Youville at 590, boulevard Crémazie Est (today in Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough).
- 1960 : Inauguration of the Metropolitan highway (40) which split the parish in two and extracted the Youville district from Villeray.
- 2017 : Andrée-Anne Laberge and Julie Tremblay found a group to revive the sense of belonging in the Youville district. A logo is created.
- 2021 : Citizens create Youville Station, an ephemeral summer public square located in front of Christ-Roi school.