Montréal, Québec, October 24, 2023 – The Montréal Diet Dispensary is rebranding itself to become Alima, Perinatal Social Nutrition Centre. This updated identity exemplifies its expertise and evokes the trust and reassurance that have been the core of its community activities for close to 145 years. The name Alima is a combination of the French words alimentation (food) and maternité (maternity), two of the organization’s iconic elements.
Created in 1879, the organization has been a Montréal pioneer in the field of health and social services. It originally began as a food service on wheels and evolved over the years to become a home for mothers in need. Its mission is to support vulnerable pregnant women through perinatal social nutrition and give their babies every chance to fully develop.
“Today, we are very proud to unveil our new ambitious brand identity that builds on our expertise in perinatal social nutrition in addition to promoting our unique approach with pregnant women. The words “diet” and “dispensary” no longer have the same meaning as before, which is why we needed to reflect about our identity,” explains Julie Paquette, P.Dt., MBA, Executive Director of Alima. “We opted for a new shorter and more dynamic name that gives full meaning to our activities, both with the women with whom we work and our partners.”
Visual design
Created by Attitude Marketing, this new brand identity was designed to promote the Centre’s innovativeness in perinatal social nutrition in Québec.
The capital A in Alima is the intersection between the three circles of a Venn diagram. It illustrates the convergence of the organization’s three fundamental elements, i.e., the practitioner, the mother and the child.
On the logo, the joining of the lines and the addition of the dots symbolize the bond between mother and child. The colours evoke gentleness as well as resilience.
An undeniable legacy
The organization, which will celebrate its 145th anniversary in 2024, is a leader in perinatal social nutrition in Québec. Every year, it helps hundreds of vulnerable pregnant women adequately feed themselves during pregnancy and give birth to healthy babies. Its innovative clinical and community interventions also help new parents ensure that their newborn and family develop in the best possible way.
“I am truly grateful to have come across this team on my journey. The gracious welcome, the attentive and relevant support adapted to my pregnancy as well as the resources, such as food and grocery store coupons, made all the difference for me,” says Carole-Anne Lapierre, who benefited from services a decade ago. “I felt reassured and supported during a challenging time of my life when I was pregnant and in school full time.”
Alima will continue its mission of supporting vulnerable pregnant women through perinatal social nutrition. “We are confident that this new brand identity will ensure our organization’s success for the next 100 years and beyond,” concludes Julie Paquette.
About Alima
Created in 1879, Alima is a community organization that operates in the field of health and social services. It has positioned itself as a pioneer in perinatal social nutrition in Québec and, through its approach, helps nearly 600 vulnerable pregnant women to adequately feed themselves during pregnancy and give birth to healthy babies every year. Its innovative clinical and community interventions also help new parents to ensure that their newborn and family develop in the best possible way. Alima is also implementing a web-based information and perinatal training service across Québec called Nurturing Life, which is aimed at equipping community advocates to be able to adequately meet the needs of the people they serve. Alima is also responsible for the Nutritious and Affordable Food Basket (NAFB), a tool used by academics, community organizations and the public to monitor prices in relation to food insecurity.
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