Allyson Beauregard
Allyson Beauregard
CAMPBELL’S BAY – At the beginning of April, Bouffe Pontiac and three other community organizations in the Outaouais received a grant from the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO). In total, the four establishments will receive nearly $80,000 in funding, which is intended for organizations providing food assistance to those in need, in their region.
With the new grant, Bouffe Pontiac will receive an additional $15,000 in funding per year. “Every year, Bouffe Pontiac receives funding from the CISSSO. In August 2015, they announced there was extra funding (79,022$) available for food banks and that they had to decide how to separate it among those in the Outaouais. We immediately prepared a request since our organization is really under-funded compared to other food banks that serve as many clients as we do. After viewing all the requests and meeting with partners, the CISSSO chose to increase our budget by $15,000, which we will receive every year from now on,” said Ellen Boucher, Bouffe Pontiac Director General.
The new funding will be added to the organization’s regular budget and will be used to buy food and cover other operating expenses.
However, the organization also relies heavily on donations and support from the community as well as the help of volunteers. “We have a team of about 5-6 regular volunteers, but we also have many others who help us with special events or fundraising such as our annual Christmas food drive. In the last year, they contributed an incredible 3,750 hours to our organization,” Boucher told the Journal.
In addition, Bouffe Pontiac also recently received a grant from the provincial ‘Soutien à l’Action bénévole Program’, which was presented by Pontiac MNA Andre Fortin, April 8. These finds will also be added to the organization’s regular budget.
