Urban beekeeping and social reintegration at Agropur head office

Longueuil, Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Four hundred thousand – that’s the number of winged visitors expected at Agropur head office between now and the fall. The bees will move into eight hives that Agropur is making available for them.

Under a partnership with Accueil Bonneau, people who are homeless will look after producing the honey and monitoring the hives. They will be trained and supervised by the social enterprise Alvéole.

“As a cooperative inspired by values of mutual aid, Agropur is pleased to join forces with Accueil Bonneau and Alvéole in supporting this social reintegration project. We hope that our new head office, which is integrated into its natural setting, will provide a welcoming site for this beekeeping project and make a concrete contribution to social reintegration,” said Agropur CEO Robert Coallier.

“We are grateful to Agropur for its involvement in this exciting project that is designed to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness develop their vocational and social skills,” added Accueil Bonneau’s Executive Director Aubin Boudreau.

Urban beekeeping is also a way to counteract the global decline of bee populations, particularly given their key environmental role in helping to maintain biodiversity.

Did you know?

Bees need to visit around 5,000,000 flowers and fly the equivalent of four times around the Earth to produce a single kilogram of honey.

About the project partners

Founded in Montreal in 2012, Alvéole is a social enterprise that specializes in urban beekeeping. Its mission is to change the urban landscape of Canada’s major cities, one beehive at a time.

Accueil Bonneau is an organization that helps people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness meet their basic daily needs and work towards a better quality of life and wellbeing through social reintegration and residential stability.

About Agropur

Agropur Cooperative is a North American dairy industry leader founded in 1938. With sales of nearly $6.0 billion in 2016, the Cooperative is a source of pride to its 3,345 members and 8,000 employees. Agropur processes more than 5.9 billion litres of milk per year at its 39 plants across North America and boasts an impressive roster of brands and products including Natrel, Québon, OKA, Farmers, Agropur Signature, Agropur Grand Cheddar, Island Farms, BiPro, and the Ultima Foods joint venture’s iögo and Olympic brands. Agropur’s Quebec head office is certified LEED Silver.

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Source:

Véronique Boileau

Vice President, Communications

Agropur Cooperative

450-878-1844