In 2012, the Saint-Vincent de Paul Society, an organization that offers support to persons in need decided to highlight this contradiction and to address all parties involved. Following the Society’s call, the Belgian Minister in charge of the Fight Against Poverty in Flanders, launched an initiative asking Belgian supermarkets to present a plan to reduce the volume of good, edible food that is sent to waste and to help reduce hunger.

The good news is that Delhaize’s proposal was selected and Delhaize Belgium committed to further reduce food waste by taking a series of new actions that will contribute to making its employees and clients even more conscious about the problems related to food waste. What a great example of how we bring the Sustainability pillar of our strategy into action.

This project unique for Belgium and for Delhaizeis an additional opportunity to sustainably reduce the volume of food waste generated by our stores but also to help improving the life of the communities where these stores are located.

Christiane Steegmans (Delhaize), Minister Lieten (center), and a volunteer (right) in a participating store

So far the first test was successfully run in 3 cities in the Belgian province of Limburg, based on collaboration between 3 Delhaize supermarkets (in Sint-Truiden, Genk and Waterschei) and the Saint-Vincent de Paul Society. The test will soon be extended to cover a total of 13 stores that includes all Delhaize stores in Limburg and a few in the province of Antwerp.

Putting the plan into practice

Volunteers of the Saint-Vincent de Paul Society visit the supermarkets every day, after 5pm. They fill their shopping baskets with 3 types of products: fresh food carrying special yellow stickers (indicating that the consumption date will expire the following day), dry food specially set aside for them and bread stocked in the freezer.

Every store prepares an average of 20 food packs per day, equivalent to an average monthly value of EUR 10 000 per store.

The packs are distributed the very same day, allowing individuals and families in need to enjoy a diner with a percentage of fresh food (meat, fish, vegetables, fruit…) higher than the ‘standard’ food packs, mainly composed of dry food.

All parties involved are very satisfied with the results so far and all speak of a win win situation.

Tell us about what actions you are taking to deal with the crisis and reduce your food waste or the actions taking place in your community.

* And yes, we know the actual expression is ‘killing 2 birds with 1 stone’ but we did not quite like the image it evokes…

Winter is always harsher for people and families in need. And in times of crisis that is even more so. This is why in December 2011, Delhaize Luxembourg joined forces with the social solidarity organizations “Caritas Buttek” and “Croix-Rouge Buttek” in Luxembourg. With their support the “Think of others – donate a meal” campaign was launched. Thanks to customers’ generosity, groceries for 6 500 breakfasts and 3 500 meals were collected in Delhaize supermarkets for the network of social solidarity food stores.

Photos: CJ, croix-rouge.lu

Delhaize customers and employees alike have shown passion for making a positive difference to the less fortunate in their community. Hard times can fall on anyone at anytime and don’t discriminate. So every bit of assistance we can give helps. With that in mind, Delhaize customers took the opportunity to hand in vouchers at the cash register with a value equivalent to one or more meals. The campaign was the second partnership between Delhaize Luxembourg and the network of social solidarity food stores, following an initial campaign of the same kind in December 2010. The initiative helped collect 10 000 meals.

Thanks to the generosity of our customers and to the contribution of our employees and the 78 volunteers who took part in the collection of these donations, people in need were a little more comfortable this winter. The campaign made it possible to collect goods in Delhaize stores. The goods were then used to fill the shelves of the various social solidarity food stores in Luxembourg. In this way, people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from could be provided with everyday basic necessities.

If each of us could reach at least one person this way, then we would truly be making a difference.

Do you think a company is only as strong as the communities where it does business? We do.

Delhaize Group Fund supports 34 projects in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to help residents work together to make their neighborhood or village more livable. The Fund is a partnership between Delhaize Group and the King Baudouin Foundation. The prize-winning initiatives unite residents from different social, cultural and economic backgrounds. They strive for one common goal:  getting to know their neighbors better and feeling good in their community.

One of the 2010 award winners – Neighborhood orchestras

Delhaize associates were involved in the selection of winners, choosing to double the amount of financial support provided to “The school in the neighborhood” – a project that encourages kids to learn knitting, cooking, DIY and gardening, by attending workshops in their local school. This broadens their range of extra-curricular interests and improves social cohesion by bringing together parents, kids, partners, neighbors and volunteers.

The jury awarded special attention to a project that fights prejudice against asylum seekers who are residing in refugee centers in the province of Luxemburg, Belgium. “Come dine with me” is the name, as well as the key message of this initiative. The originality of the project lies in adapting a concept that is well-known to sections of the population that are socially and culturally distanced from each other. There is also the symbolism of welcoming strangers into your home with the trust and open mindedness that is involved. The initiative leads to warmth and friendliness in the short term (during the meal) but also in the long term by reducing prejudices about asylum seekers and their aims.

Whether it’s through music, food, photography, construction, writing or other creative activities, all 34 winners will use the funding to help create a stronger sense of community locally, where it matters the most.  Click here to read more about this year’s award winners and about previous initiatives.

What projects like this could you help with in your community?

Every day and everywhere in the world people struggle to feed themselves and their families.

Click to see the full infographic on World Hunger (Credits: Online Schools)

In most of the communities Delhaize Group serves, the reasons why people go hungry can be linked to debt, unemployment, illness, domestic violence, family breakdown, unexpected high bills… But the current economic crisis, the worst in decades, is such that many families struggle to put food on their tables, whether or not they have a job.

Every year food banks fight hunger by providing emergency food and support to people experiencing crisis.
Delhaize Group banners are part of the communities where they operate. Building healthy, prosperous communities, customers and employees is key to the success of the group. To best respond to local needs, the group’s banners have built local partnerships, support food fundraising through the store networks and donate food directly to local food banks.

One in 6 people in the world suffer from lack of proper food. In Belgium, over 100 000 people cannot afford to buy a complete and nutritious meal.

Delhaize Belgium recently organized its 21st food bank campaign. In the first years of the collaboration with the food banks, Delhaize customers were asked to buy food that was then collected and sent to the food banks, to be distributed to the needy. Nowadays the system has become more efficient: customers are invited to buy ‘meal vouchers’ with values ranging from EUR 1.5 to EUR 5 – a EUR 1.5 voucher buys a breakfast, a EUR 3 voucher a warm meal and a EUR 5 voucher buys enough food for the 3 daily meals every person should take. The money collected is given to the food banks that buy the exact goods needed at a specific moment. The 2011 food bank action at Delhaize Belgium ran from October 13 to 19. Hopes are to exceed the 2010 results, when Delhaize customers collected a total of EUR 865 142, equivalent to 407 882 meals.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Delhaize America also contributes positively in the communities they serve by helping to feed the 49 million Americans who suffer from hunger. Last year Feeding America, the US largest domestic hunger charity, found a 46% increase in this need compared to 2006.

At the individual store level, donations to food banks have increased through programs such as the Hannaford Helps Fight Hunger or Food Lion Hunger Has a Cure campaigns. At the banner level, partnerships with organizations, such as the Feeding America network, ensures that food still fit for consumption but unable to be sold is distributed to those who need it most. In 2010, in total, Delhaize America has given direct food donations of approximately 20 thousand tonnes, the equivalent of 34.5 million meals, through various events and partnerships. It also donated close to USD 500 000 to Feeding America.

In recognition for its outstanding contribution, last August the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina awarded Food Lion the title of ‘Food Donor of the Year’. Food Lion received the honor for its 8.9 – million pound commitment to hunger relief. Donations from Food Lion included 7,545,087 pounds of food and 1,330,950 pounds of nonfood items. Food Lion also offered discounts below the market rate on transportation plus storage.

“Food Lion is a proud supporter of Feeding America,” Catherine Green Burns, CEO at Food Lion said. “Our company is dedicated to supporting hunger relief and nutrition education programs in the communities we serve. We strongly believe that no child should ever go hungry, and we hope this contribution will help these food banks to continue to make a difference in the fight to end child hunger.”

Some of the banners that recently joined Delhaize Group are also involved with food donations. On World Food Day, on October 16, two Tempo centers and a Maxi supermarket celebrated the long partnership they have with local food banks by offering important volumes of food and by inviting customers to join in the action. During the campaign, that also involved other companies, a total of 5 tonnes of food were collected. It will be given to 350 households living in Serbia’s poorest municipalities.

“The worse famine the world has known since the early 90s” These words were used by the UN to describe the current situation in the horn of Africa.
Mother Nature has a way to remind us of all the damages our societies have inflicted upon her.

Map from www.cnn.com

As of August 3rd, Delhaize Belgium has decided to react to this humanitarian catastrophe by asking its clients to show solidarity with Eastern Africans and spare some money to help the actions on the field by the Belgian Red Cross and the Consortium Belge pour les Situations d’Urgence, 12-12, and SOS Village d’Enfants.

An amount of €5, gives a child access to drinking water for 6 months, whilst €10 can save the life of an undernourished kid thanks to a therapeutic alimentation. When doing your shopping at Delhaize in Belgium and in Luxembourg, you will be able to give €5, €10 or €15 at the checkout.

But we’re not all talk and no action, we also put our hands in our pockets and have pledged a sum of €50.000, which will provide drinkable water to 10.000 kids for a year to the concerned charities.

So please, think about it, every little helps

Thank you for your generosity!