Improving access to our products, services, and jobs for people in vulnerable situations
Everyone should have easy access to food, stores, services, and jobs. For people in vulnerable situations, this is not as easy as it sounds. As a food and health retailer and the largest private employer in Belgium, we are actively working on solutions for people who currently face barriers.
How do we define vulnerable target groups?
As a people-centred company, we don’t consider any person to be inherently vulnerable. We prefer to speak of people who, for one reason or another, find themselves in a vulnerable situation and thus have a harder time accessing our products, stores, services, or jobs. Reasons may include:
How do we make a positive difference for vulnerable target groups?
We are a food and health retailer and see it as our role to go the extra mile when it comes to healthy eating. We want and are able to remove barriers on the path to a healthy diet.
We do this first and foremost by making healthy products accessible in our grocery stores. The value for money and brand recognition of our own brand, Boni, play an important role here.
Furthermore, we also ensure that people get the inspiration they need to cook healthy meals, through recipe booklets, our brands’ brochures and websites, and the Xtra app. The message: healthy and affordable don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Another key driver is our partnerships with social organisations. For example, we are the leading retail partner of the Food Banks and we collaborate systematically with local social services (OCMWs).
Our corporate foundation, Colruyt Group Foundation, is also strongly committed to this cause. Many of the projects support young people in vulnerable situations so that they can become more resilient and take control of their own lives. They develop their talents and professional skills and learn to demonstrate their entrepreneurial spirit. Learning to cook healthy meals on a limited budget is also part of increasing their autonomy.
