The opening of the first Social Grocery

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Greece : The opening of the first Social Grocery

The first social grocery in Greece was opened on December 17, 2007 by the Athens city authorities, the Carrefour Marinopoulos group and a local organization for homeless people.

The Athens Social Grocery is located in the heart of the city and is the result of cooperation between the city authorities and the Carrefour Marinopoulos group. It is open twice a week and distributes free goods such as detergent, household products, clothes, food and children’s games to families in financial difficulty. Hygiene and safety are strictly controlled.

The families which are accepted by the social grocery are selected by the city social services according to certain socio-economic criteria. They then receive a card which entitles them to shop for free at the social grocery.

A month after opening, there is huge interest in the grocery. The number of newspaper articles is increasing daily, and the number of people who have requested a pass card for the Athens Social Grocery continues to grow.

The main objective is to cover the basic needs of poor families, enabling them to improve their living conditions and achieve financial independence rapidly. The programme will provide for 200 families who will be re-assessed every six months depending on their situation.

This programme is based on the social groceries set up by the Carrefour Group in France and Belgium and is partly financed by the Carrefour International Foundation. This is the first social grocery in Greece and the Carrefour Marinopoulos group is examining the possibility of setting up other groceries elsewhere in Greece in cooperation with local authorities.