Social grocery shop Les Capucines is offering gourmet dishes from Ucclois restaurant Tranches de Cake for €2.5 and €3 with dessert, reports La Derniere Heure.
Located in Brussels' Marolles quarter, Les Capucines has provided cheap dishes to the most disadvantaged Marolles residents for years. Recently, it was equipped with a brand new kitchen to help it recycle unsold food.
"We don't throw anything away, everything is transformed," said Stéphanie Miraglia, owner of Tranches de Cake, who has teamed up with Les Capucins. She explains the concept is called 'Food & Friends' where her kitchen offers meals every Wednesday and Friday.
The social grocery shop Les Capucines in the Marolles. Credit: Belga / Ophelie Delarouzee
"We offer all the cuisines of the world: Lebanese, Asian, Italian, etc. Working with unsold food means you have to be imaginative, especially for the desserts because we never have butter or eggs. It's a real challenge."
A precarious situation
Food & Friends currently has eight loyal customers who come every Wednesday and Friday, according to Miraglia.
"It's starting to take off, but we have a very large potential clientele in this neighbourhood. It is estimated that there are about 5,000 people in the Marolles quarter who are in a precarious situation."
The social grocery shop Les Capucines in the Marolles. Credit: Belga / Ophelie Delarouzee
Previously, the pandemic brought people to Les Capucines. Now, it is the energy crisis that is bringing people to it.
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"Recently, we have seen a different type of person arrive: students, single mothers, people who work but can't make ends meet."
Since September, "the number of requests for access to the social grocery shop has increased by 40%," said the director of the of the social grocery shop Émilie Many.
To make an order with Les Capucines, call or email them or visit the social grocery shop in person.
