DURABLE - The Kotidien grocery store

In February 2022, the first student grocery store in French-speaking Belgium opened its doors on rue des Clarisses, in the center of Liège.

There are two conditions for access to Kotidien: you must be a student in a higher education establishment in the province of Liège or Luxembourg, and you must be in financial difficulty. Compliance with this second criterion is based on trust. Students are asked to sign a declaration on their honor, with no income verification. They are provided with everyday essentials free of charge or at a quarter of the market price.

An inter-institutional alliance

In April 2019, a study on the living conditions of students in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, commissioned by the Ministry of Higher Education, revealed two new areas of concern: mental health and food, in addition to other issues such as housing and mobility. when we read the study," says Aurélie Proietti, from Pôle Académique Liège-Luxembourg, "we asked ourselves how we could respond to these social phenomena, knowing that we couldn't solve them all. We focused on food and began our reflections, influenced by a good practice referenced in Brussels, namely the distribution of solidarity baskets." During the health crisis, from February to June 2021, the University of Liège offered free baskets of organic and local produce to support students and help them cope with everyday expenses. To anchor the approach in the long term, the baskets gave way to the establishment of a solidarity grocery store. To make this project a reality, Aurélie Proietti set out to meet the world of social grocery stores and food aid. While there were already a number of them, there was still an undeveloped area to meet the needs of many young people. those who are registered with a CPAS have access to them," explains Magali Thonon, a psychologist with ULiège's Student Affairs department. But many students don't meet the selective criteria despite serious financial worries. It's enough, for example, for both parents to work, but they can't afford to help out. From then on, solidarity groceries helped these students under the table, but the situation was not comfortable for anyone. It's hard enough to ask for help, it's even harder when the service isn't designed for it" The student grocery store had to take this reality into account. It also had to be accessible to all higher education students, whatever their institution, without discrimination. The project is headed and partly financed by the Pôle académique Liège-Luxembourg, but all the universities and Hautes Écoles in the two provinces are involved in the discussions and financing of the project. Each structure allocates a percentage in proportion to the number of students enrolled. An equitable distribution that reflects a fine example of inter-institutional solidarity around a unifying project. The initiative is also supported by the Poverty Fund, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, as well as donations and solidarity partnerships. we also involved the student community from the outset," says Aurélie Proietti. A group of students drew up a questionnaire that was circulated to the various institutions. Which location should be chosen? What opening hours, what products to choose... We drew on the results of this survey throughout the implementation of the project."

The origins: pleasure and dignity

the big difference between the grocery store and the baskets," says Aurélie Proietti, "is that beneficiaries can choose the products they are going to eat, and do so with greater discretion. Logistically, it's a little more complicated, but there's a respect for human dignity and the notion of pleasure associated with food. We're getting away from the idea that people in precarious situations have to make do with what they're given Attention is also paid to environmental issues. Some products are offered in bulk, while others are chosen from local producers. In addition, sanitary towels and moon cups are offered to students. Le Kotidien is open 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from 5pm to 7pm. It is run by 5 students on paid "volunteer/volunteer" contracts. we offer a wide selection of much-appreciated fruit and vegetables, milk, flour, eggs and meat," explains Isabelle Jardon, coordinator of the solidarity grocery store. These products come from local grocery partners, Jardin d'Antan and the Terre d'Herbage network of producers, the boulangerie sans patron, which gives us unsold goods at the end of the day, and the food bank. We were also able to acquire a cold room thanks to a donation from the Fondation Roi Baudoin. Bulk sales and the sale of certain organic products are made possible thanks to Al'Binette, which allows us to benefit from supplier prices. The Carrefour de Ans regularly supplies us with its unsold goods, and other more occasional donations complete our offer. But we're always on the lookout for volunteers and partnerships to increase our stock The initiative won the Solidaris prize, which enabled it to purchase a cargo bike to collect unsold goods from small retailers in the region. By November 2022, some 920 students had signed up (out of a student population of 50,000). This figure is not representative of a reality that is difficult to estimate today. On the one hand, the grocery store needs to make itself known, and on the other, many young people don't feel entitled to this type of assistance, even in objectively precarious food situations. Nevertheless, around 180 young people come every week. "The current limit is a basket of a maximum of 10 products per week. This basket costs around 4.5 euros. And the students are particularly respectful. They make a point of not taking too much food to allow others to benefit from it." A place of solidarity as important as it is central to the fight against poverty and for dignified access to quality food for all. There may be many reasons for students' financial difficulties, but there are currently too few structures in place to help them.