Longueuil community steps up to replenish shelves after massive meat theft at food bank

In mid-November, a Longueuil food bank was robbed of $10,000 worth of frozen meat.

Action Nouvelle Vie never thought they could replenish their supplies in time to give out holiday baskets, but they pulled it off.

On Wednesday, the community hosted a winter wonderland of generosity.

"We're giving donations to people in need, but we want this to be a great event for them. You know, they don't have to be ashamed of anything. Five hundred volunteers coming up, $1 million in value given in one day, 2,200 food baskets, 3,000 gifts for children as well," said Jeremie Olivier, a spokesperson for the food bank.

That’s a huge feat for any charitable organization, especially one that was robbed. A month ago. Thieves carted away thousands of hundreds of pounds of frozen meat that was locked in a refrigerated truck.

Olivier says the community came to their rescue.

"The response was great generosity. We had donors and donations and cash donations and food as well. So, with this generosity, we were able to distribute our food baskets," he said.

Olivier says his team isn't looking back at the crime, but looking forward to the new year and fulfilling new needs in the community.

"We're securing our building, making sure it doesn't happen again. January is a tough month for food banks. And usually because all the Christmas hype is gone, but families still have needs," Olivier said.

Longueuil police say they're still investigating the meat theft and despite there being video footage, to date there have been no arrests.

The food bank rallied to fulfill its promise of 2,200 holiday baskets. Now Action Nouvelle Vie is looking forward to a few days off before getting back to work in the new year.

"We were able to deliver on our promise," Olivier said. "But again, in the past year or two, the request for help has doubled. So, we don't expect that to go down in 2025, unfortunately."