Institutions Eat Local!

Name: Aliments du Québec
Price range: $

From early childhood care and daycare services through to universities, as well as hospitals, workplaces, and seniors’ residences, institutions across Quebec come together each fall to celebrate local foods. All are invited to roll out initiatives that raise awareness among their users about the importance of discovering, cooking, and enjoying locally sourced products.

September 21 to 27, 2026

(8th edition)

Each year, hundreds of institutions across Quebec take part in the celebration! Local menus, tastings, cooking workshops, pop-up markets, pick-your-own outings—every idea is welcome to showcase local products. A great demonstration of collective commitment to a local, sustainable, and unifying food system!

Over $10,000 in participation prizes!

No registration is required before the event! To be eligible for the participation prize draw, your institution simply needs to complete a form describing the action(s) carried out as part of the event and submit at least one photo showing your participation. The form will be available on this page starting September 21, 2026.

These grants aim to encourage institutions to continue showcasing and promoting Quebec food products throughout the year.

Want to stand out? Two larger grants will be awarded to “favourite” initiatives that highlight the originality and strong commitment of institutions that find creative ways to showcase Quebec food products.

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Who can participate in the event?

The event is open to all public and private institutional establishments:

🔵 Early childhood services (CPEs and daycares)
🔵 Educational institutions (preschool, elementary, secondary, college, university, vocational, technical, adult education, etc.)
🔵 Health and social services establishments (hospitals, CISSS, CIUSSS, CHSLDs, rehabilitation centres, youth centres, seniors’ residences, etc.)
🔵 Workplaces
🔵 Non-profit, community, recreational or healthy-living organizations
🔵 Agri-food businesses, suppliers and distributors

Do you work for a company? Study at a university? Have a child who attends a CPE? Encourage your workplace, school or community to get involved, and help inspire other institutions across Quebec to join the movement!

Activities organized by groups or departments not directly involved in food services are encouraged as part of the event and are eligible for the contest.

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📬 Free promotional materials delivered by mail

Order your free promotional materials and receive them by mail: posters, stickers, temporary tattoos and more! These materials will help you create a festive atmosphere, engage your community and bring your participation to life.

Order your free promotional materials

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🧩 BINGO Game

Looking for inspiration? Download our BINGO activity card today! A simple, fun and engaging way to discover easy-to-implement ideas for your institution.

Download the full BINGO card

💻 Digital Toolkit

Download our digital toolkit to proudly showcase your participation in Les institutions mangent local! on your social media and other communication platforms. You’ll find visuals in French, English and bilingual versions.

Download the digital toolkit

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🔔 NEW: Customizable materials!

Add your own message, invite your community to join you and share the details of your participation. A great way to build excitement in your institution and inspire other institutions to join the movement.

*These customizable materials are included in the digital toolkit.

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Idea Toolkit for Celebrating Local Food

Looking for inspiration for your event?
This guide brings together a variety of tools and resources to help you organize an activity that showcases local food in your institution!

Explore the Idea Toolkit

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Institutions that participated in the last edition

The 2025 edition showcased many original and inspiring initiatives! Some institutions stood out for their commitment and received a “favourite” award from the Aliments du Québec and Équiterre teams.

Discover the institutions recognized in the last edition

Thank you to our event partners!

Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation (MAPAQ)

Équiterre

Le Regroupement des Tables de concertation bioalimentaire du Québec

Colabor

Sysco

Service alimentaire Gordon

A Collaborative Event

Institutions eat local! is an initiative of the Aliments du Québec au menu – Institution program (developed by Aliments du Québec and Équiterre, with the support of the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec – MAPAQ).

Institutions eat local! is an opportunity to build connections with agri-food stakeholders in your region and to become aware of possible improvements in your supply chain. The Regroupement des Tables de concertation bioalimentaire du Québec (RTCBQ) brings together regional coordinators to which more than 1,600 businesses belong. The RTCBQ can help you organize your activity by connecting you with local producers and processors.

Celebrate local foods at home with the Défi je mange local, which invites you to eat as locally as possible throughout the year by taking part in a fun journey. It will provide you with tools, tips and tricks to eat a little more locally, while helping you discover the culinary identity of Quebec's different regions.