What is Le Frigo Vert?
Le Frigo Vert is a natural foods store, located on the downtown campus of Concordia University. We provide high quality food at reasonable prices, with an emphasis on food which is environmentally and socially responsible.How did LFV come to exist?
Le Frigo Vert developed as a working group project of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at Concordia. A group at QPIRG began educating themselves and others on the politics of food--- from international trade, to the use of pesticides. They produced a book called Hungry for Justice. They wanted to consume food which was produced without pesticides, so they began a food buying group. People decided to organize to set up a non-profit, natural foods store.
In the winter of 1994, students from CASA, CSU and
ECA (the three undergraduate associations at Concordia) voted to financially
support the Eat Your Peel Student Food Coop (now known as Le Frigo Vert).
Concordia Students from the above faculties are now members of the store,
and others can puchase a membership for only $15.00.
Our Role in Education
Le Frigo Vert also offers a resource centre on food and food-related issues. We have information on pesticides, organic farming, international trade, composting, and biotechnologies. We're always looking for relevant books, articles, or old magazines on food which you could donate. If we don't have what you're looking for, we'll try to refer you to the appropriate organization.
We also provide education on food issues. Education can be organized a number of different ways: a poster campaign, a speaker series, workshops on canning, vegetarianism, or international developments and the food production process. For example, in the winter of 1995 we had workshops on "How to Make Your Own Soy Milk", as well as "HIV and Nutrition."
We also worked to educate the University about bovine growth hormones, controversial injection drugs that some phamaceutical companies want to sell to Canadian dairy farmers so that cows will produce more milk. BGH results in serious udder infections for the cows, and we do not know its potential adverse affects on humans. Moreover, Canada already produces a surplus of milk.
Volunteers who work on education gain useful organizing
skills-everything from how to plan an event, to learning computer desktop
publishing. If you're interested in working on education, talk with the
manager or one of the cashiers.
