That's basically the reason I'm here with you today.
In the past, the federal government has helped British Columbia. We didn't invent the food voucher program here. Through conversations with farmers' markets in Quebec and our partners, we learned what was being done in the Maritimes and in British Columbia. Investments have been made, and they're working. Our food voucher program generates $63,000 in economic benefits, but British Columbia has $8 million in food voucher transactions across various markets. In the Maritimes, it's $3 million.
Two or three years ago, the federal government tasked a food security think tank—the Centre for Social Innovation in Agriculture—with studying this issue and conducting a pilot project. The RCM of Portneuf and the Lower St. Lawrence region participated in the project. The budget was $300,000. We're not talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. We're not talking about billions of dollars. However, by investing a few hundred thousand dollars to support our groups, our stakeholders and the people who donate to the United Way and contribute to the Desjardins community development fund, we are actually creating something much bigger. Your support is extremely important.