Ensuring that all populations have access to quality, healthy, sustainable, chosen, and waste-free food is the motto of Les Cuisiniers solidaires. The association pursues its goal of raising awareness, partly by recovering unsold organic products from producers and distributors. With these products, cooking workshops are held in priority neighborhoods or rural areas, reaching out to the most vulnerable.
"We encourage people to join us through cooking, which is a great conversation starter,” explains Jacques Cardot. “And food generally concerns and interests everyone.”
Les Cuisiniers solidaires is also a community food space where we test and experiment, a kind of solidarity canteen, once a week. "We prepare the meal together, then we enjoy it and take the opportunity to talk about healthy, sustainable, and quality food.”
Indeed, for Jacques Cardot, eating well is not reserved for an elite. While organic food may initially be more expensive, it offers better nutritional benefits. “It’s a different way of eating, of nourishing oneself,” he specifies. “It’s somewhat of a learning process, new habits to adopt.”
And the association does not use the so-called "ugly products" that are often talked about. “When it rains, and then the sun shines, which often happens in Brittany, if we planned to recover 500 kilos of green beans and end up with a ton, we need to know what to do with those 500 kilos of surplus. That’s what overproduction is,” explains Jacques Cardot. “And it’s true that organic producers are happy to find structures like ours that work with vulnerable populations. For them, it’s a gesture that holds great value.”
“We are in a logic of social connection, of doing things together, of reaching out. And when we arrive with our products, we give people the choice of what we can cook. That’s when we see the richness these individuals bring, influenced by their parents and grandparents who cooked simply. We also help evoke positive memories.”
"Our role is to inform, to never stigmatize, to say you have a choice,” emphasizes Jacques Cardot. “Indeed, we should not make these populations feel guilty who already face enough difficulties. On the contrary, we should empower them and show them that there are possible solutions.”
