)
Colruyt helps 7,000 families have a delicious and balanced meal
20
April
2019
Making tasty and balanced food more accessible to families experiencing financial difficulties. That is the purpose of the 'Dinner is served in 1-2-3 euros' project Colruyt Lowest Prices launched late 2016. Thanks to the collaboration with social institutions and local authorities, more than 7,000 families already participated in the project. This project won the 'I am more than my receipt' award in January 2020. This new award rewards initiatives of Belgian supermarkets enabling customers to shop in a more balanced, fair and environment-friendly way.
6 budget-friendly recipes every 2 weeks
The ‘Dinner is served in 1-2-3 euros’ is a simple concept. Vulnerable families with children are informed by social organisations such as Social Services, Centrum Algemeen Welzijn or Kind & Gezin. Families who – volunteer to – register, will find a Colruyt cookery booklet in their mailbox every 2 weeks. It contains 6 easy and child-friendly recipes with corresponding shopping lists. Each recipe, composed by our culinary team, is enough for 3 good portions. The team proposes varied, delicious and balanced recipes and bears in mind the price. For this reason, we choose seasonal products. The dishes cost 1, 2 or 3 euros per portion. The price of the whole package is included even if they do not need all of it. This means that people know in advance, what they will pay at the checkout.
Inspiration
In three years’ time, more than 7,000 families already participated in the project. Each cookery booklet contains meat, fish and veggie recipes. We also add tips: how can the children help prepare the meal? What can you prepare with leftovers? The participants are happy with the inspiration for daily meals, without having to worry about the price. “Thanks to your recipes, I succeed in conjuring up varied, affordable and delicious meals ”, a mother from Kortrijk tells us. To support people in practice, some organisations set up cooking demonstrations to prepare recipes together. Or they ask us to organise a tour of the local Colruyt store during which store employees give tips for cheap and efficient shopping.
Productive collaboration
The project combines the expertise of all partners. “Social organisations know the vulnerable families and are familiar with their needs ”, says colleague Eva Biltereyst, who coordinates the project. “We have extensive expertise in cooking tasty and balanced food. Together, we can help families with children that are having a hard time, in a structural and sustainable way. Take away some of their worries and help them to become more independent. We feel this is our corporate social responsibility.”
From Kortrijk to Flanders and Wallonia
‘Dinner is served in 1-2-3 euros’ started early 2015 as a test project of Colruyt, in co-creation with the city and social services of Kortrijk. Following a positive test with 144 families, Colruyt decided to roll out the project nationally as from September 2016. In the meantime, the project runs in more than 200 Flemish and Walloon towns and more than 200 social organisations have joined. Our own co-workers can also register.
With this initiative, we contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
