Author: The Record
Published August 20, 2024

Photo by William Crooks
Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada and Sherbrooke MP Élisabeth Brière toured Sherbooke’s Croquarium and enjoyed a home-made snack with the organization’s staff and youth

By William Crooks

Local Journalism Initiative

The federal government has provided $222,200 in non-repayable funding to Croquarium, a Sherbrooke-based non-profit, to support the development of Maison Croquarium, a project focused on building sustainable, community-based food spaces. The announcement was made Aug. 20 by Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED), alongside Sherbrooke MP Élisabeth Brière.

The funds, granted under CED’s “Regional Economic Growth through Innovation” program, will enable Croquarium to develop key community food infrastructure such as a processing kitchen, educational gardens, a greenhouse, and a green roof. The facilities will be available to small agri-food businesses in the region, providing them with access to commercial-grade equipment that complies with government regulations.

Ferrada highlighted in a same day release that social economy projects like Maison Croquarium are vital to regional development, helping stimulate local economies and support sustainable initiatives. She noted that this project will benefit not just Sherbrooke but communities across Quebec and Canada.

Brière added that the Maison Croquarium project is a double win for the region, as it will support local agri-food businesses while continuing Croquarium’s mission of educating young people about sustainable food practices.

According to Martine David, Founder and Strategic Development Advisor of Croquarium, local food producers and processors are eagerly awaiting the opening of the new kitchen, which will allow them to enhance their production capabilities and offer products made from locally grown ingredients.

The kitchen, part of the renovation of a facility once used by religious sisters, is a central component of the project. It will provide much-needed infrastructure for local food businesses to process and market their products. This renovation is expected to alleviate the previous challenge of finding appropriate commercial kitchen space in Sherbrooke.

During a tour of the Croquarium grounds on the same day, Ferrada and Brière were introduced to Croquarium’s educational initiatives. Croquarium operates across all regions of Quebec, where it distributes gardening and sensory education materials to schools. The Sherbrooke organization works with 10 to 12 educators who facilitate hands-on learning experiences for students, teaching them about gardening and healthy eating.

One area of the tour focused on the educational gardens, where young entrepreneurs are involved in growing crops. These young gardeners not only sell their produce at local markets but also transform it into products that can be sold. The new processing kitchen will enable them to further develop these products, providing a nearby space to prepare and package their goods for sale. These hands-on experiences are designed to connect education with real-world applications, reinforcing Croquarium’s mission of integrating learning with sustainable food production.

Both Ferrada and Brière praised the project for its innovation in combining education, social enterprise, and sustainability. They expressed optimism that Maison Croquarium would contribute to the region’s economic growth while promoting sustainable practices throughout the Eastern Townships and beyond.

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