“Because a Meal is not Enough”

A Brief Overview of French Food Aid

As I’ve been settling into this year I’ve gotten a slow start to writing. I’m now in Madagascar but will begin here by recapping the first destination of my trip: France. I was there for exactly one month and all my work was done in Paris.

I chose to go to France because it is known as a global leader for food security initiatives. In 2016 they passed a law requiring all supermarkets over a certain size to donate excess food or face a fine of roughly $4,000 upon each failure to do so. This law has been shown to be working: over 2,700 supermarkets have donate over 46,000 tons of food each year. The publicity around the laws has raised consumer awareness about food waste as well. By 2025, France hopes to decrease its food waste by 50%.  

Paris has some beautiful solutions to providing food to those in need. One of my favorites is called Refettorio Paris: Food for Soul- a restaurant in the crypt of the famous Madeline Church that serves dinner for people in need. However these aren’t just meals—these are three-course meals prepared with excess food by some of France’s most renowned chefs. Guests are welcomed into a comfortable space and are waited on by staff in this effort to improve social integration.

Besides this refettorio, there are about a dozen other Solidarity Restaurants in Paris that provide food with the same goal in mind. There are also numerous apps that alert Parisians of nearby businesses with excess food near their closing time- reducing food waste and helping consumers find cheap food. Then, of course, there are NGO’s that provide major amounts of food all over the country. While in Paris I met with two of the four largest food distributors in France: Le Secours Populaire and Les Restos du Coeur.

• 

• 

In 1987 the European council began what is today known as the FEAD (Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived). Four major organizations in France benefit from this, including Les Restos du Coeur and Le Secours Populaire. This grant provides critical funding for all of these organizations and was the first thing discussed during my meetings with each.

Les Restos du Coeur (Restaurants of the Heart) is a major food aid organization in France and among the most popular with 72,000 volunteers, 450 employees, and over 2,000 centers. It serves over 180 million meals a year within the country. They distribute food through grocery programs and also provide hot meals at centers and mobile food trucks. At certain centers, cooking courses are offered. In addition, they run a Gardens du Coeur program. In 45 gardens they employ those in need of work and send the produce to their distribution centers. Les Restos du Coeur also reported that their supermarket donations increased from 25,000 tons in 2014 to 45,000 tons in 2018, attesting to the benefit of the 2016 food waste laws.

Similarly to Les Restos du Coeur, Le Secours Populaire receives food through the FEAD grant, supermarket donations, and purchases. I visited a busy branch that serves about 60 families each day. To become eligible for their grocery program, each case is assessed by a social worker who then allots a certain amount of food for six months. After this time, the situation is reassessed. The managers specifically stressed how important it is to provide food that is culturally appropriate for their diverse group of beneficiaries found in Paris.

Both organizations also meet critical needs beyond food. Le Secours Populaire assists with housing placements, scheduling doctor’s appointments, and even provides a fixed mailing address for those without. In their centers I saw people leaving with clothing, cooking utensils, baby formula, diapers, and soap. Les Restos du Coeur helps with job searches and provides employment opportunities in their gardens, warehouses, and professional kitchens. They also provide leisure activities to improve social integration. These comes in the form of movie tickets and even vacation funds.

It was inspiring to see how committed both organizations are to providing their services in a way that are dignified for the recipients. “Because a meal is not enough,” to quote Les Restos du Coeur. Both organizations strive to fulfill basic needs while incorporating social integration and making people feel empowered to take charge of their situation. These factors are being increasingly prioritized across the globe in many organizations and I think they will have a profound effect.

Behind the scenes…

There was lots of cheese, tradicion bread (even better than a baguette, according to locals and now me), and mini saucissons. The Paris metro was extremely easy to navigate and I used it everyday to explore the city. You know how seeing Mt. Rushmore in person is basically the same as on a postcard? I’d say the Eiffel Tower is just about the opposite.

Before embarking, I thought of France as my “easy” destination. I had planned to be there for about a month and to visit many different organizations to get an overview of what they do and how they operate. I was also hoping that opportunities to volunteer would come up as I met with people.

I learned very quickly that I shouldn’t expect anything to be “easy.” I had unfortunately timed my visit with French holiday. Many businesses were closed and neighborhoods boarded up as people were on extended vacations, since they have a 5 week minimum for vacation time (lucky!). Organization directors and managers who were best suited to discuss the work were away and wouldn’t be available for weeks. The organizations that were open were operating with a partial staff that was extremely busy continuing their operations. Of the dozen organizations that I wanted to visit, only two were able to receive me during this time. I was so bummed by this. For the first two weeks I worked every day to find more. I kept hitting dead ends. When I was successful, the process would move too slowly for my time frame. In the end I just had to accept that it was OK to manage with what was working out. I learned a ton from the orgs I did visit and was able to read about the others and plan my coming months.

At the end of my trip I took some time to travel around with a visitor as well, getting to spend a few days near the Alps and another few in the French Riviera. Overall it was a wonderful month getting used to orienting myself to being in a foreign place. There is much more of that to come. Au revoir, France!