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Zero Waste

Franck Reneaud, Director of the Moulins central kitchen : "donating our surplus food allows us to reduce waste"

Banques alimentaires
In May 2019, Elior forged a partnership with the French Federation of Food Banks to redistribute the Group’s surplus food to associations and thereby reduce food waste.

Thanks to their territorial networks, both players are involved at the national and local levels. In Moulins, where 2,700 meals are cooked every day in Elior’s central kitchen, the kitchen manager ensures that this solidarity action is implemented. 

Why did you decide to donate surplus food from the Moulins central kitchen?

Franck Reneaud I wanted to get my team of 18 people involved in a solidarity project. I have been working at the Moulins central kitchen for a year and it made a lot of sense to get involved in the community life in my region. Food Banks play a very important social role in Allier because they support people in precarious situations via more than a hundred associations.

This is why, as soon as we learnt that Elior had forged a partnership with the Food Banks at the national level, we decided to set up a convention at the local level. We are pleased to be able to participate at our level in an essential social mission.

Isn’t it also a way to avoid throwing away uneaten meals?

FR  Exactly. Donating our surplus food also allows us to reduce food waste. Meals are cooked 48 hours in advance and the exact quantities adjusted at 10:00 a.m. every morning, which explains why there is sometimes surplus food that previously went into the trash.

We prefer to promote the fruits of our labor by giving uneaten meals to people in need. Our aim was to combine actions that are both useful and gratifying.

We prefer to promote the fruits of our labor by giving uneaten meals to people in need. Our aim was to combine actions that are both useful and gratifying

Franck Reneaud - Director of the Moulins central kitchen

How are your food donations distributed?

FR they are donated to solidarity accommodation centers and restaurants near Moulins. In general, because meals are cooked on site every day, they are quickly distributed to associations and consumed the same day. Every day during the school year, Food Bank volunteers come and collect the surplus food from the central kitchen and then distribute it to the associations.

How do you organize the food drives from a health point of view?

FR Our priority is to provide balanced meals that comply with hygiene rules. We forged this partnership with the food banks to ensure that we fully comply with the requirements of health regulations: cold chain, use-by dates

 

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