The Mascarene Islands Food Bank hits the road with its new truck to bring mobile cooking classes into the local communities that it serves

This project dovetails into the raft of ongoing and tangible efforts to the support local communities, as, in addition to the meals distributed, GBH is mobilising significant logistical resources in order to support the network of food banks, in particular, financing the transportation of food from Mainland France. 

The Mascarene Islands Food Bank will now travel through Réunion Island to offer mobile “cooking and nutrition” clases, which aim to help food-aid recipients to be able to make balanced meals from the products distributed in the food packages and outline the benefits of healthy and balanced nutrition. The partners involved in these efforts are GBH, Aurar, the Départemente Council and the Saint-Paul Social Action Community Centre (CCAS). 

Mindful of the reluctance of some families to cook these products, the BAM has started up this roaming-truck project in order to provide support to food-aid recipients in preparing balanced meals using the ingredients in the food packages. In-depth training has been provided to the volunteers and the BAM cook by nutritionists at Aurar's Omega Clinic. 

They are now ready to head out into local communities to cook delicious and healthy recipes together with families. 

"We are aware that poor nutrition unfortunately often leads to health problems. We now need to take action to address this", said Bruno Prochasson, President of the Mascarene Islands Food Bank. "Things have gone well with the on-site classes in our kitchen in Saint-Pierre. Thanks to this truck, we will now be able to go out into the community and assist everyone who receives support from us", continued the President confidently. 

Financial support needed in order to bring about dietary changes 

This project has come about thanks to the financial support of GBH, a committed partner in fighting food poverty. Thanks to the truck, we will be able to go out into the communities of aid recipients, in order to offer them tangible solutions adapted to their daily needs. 

Michel Lapeyre, GBH Indian Ocean and Africa Managing Director, stated: "We signed up without hesitation to this BAM initiative, which is fundamental in outlining and raising awareness of good cooking habits among the Réunion Island population, and which contributes towards combatting health problems. This action builds on and complements our commitment to the BAM around transporting food items, which increases the volume of products transported and diversifies the types of products available". 

A study by the Mascarene Islands Food Bank in December 2022 revealed that people receiving public food aid in Réunion Island have an average food budget of just €3.70 per person, per day. Against a backdrop of inflation, households are increasingly struggling to buy essential products, in particular meat products and fresh fruit and vegetables, which are recommended under the French National Health and Nutrition Plan (Plan National Nutrition Santé), however. This plan suggests that our diet should be made up 33% of fruit and vegetables, 12% of meat products and just 2.5% of added fats. 

A backdrop of insecurity and health problems 

In addition to financial constraints, many poor families also have to deal with major health problems. In Réunion Island, four out of ten people are overweight and more than one in ten are obese. There is a partcularly high prevalence of diabetes in Réunion Island, making it the French region with the highest number of cases of this condition. According to the “Profils” survey carried out every two years by the French Food Banks Federation (Fédération Française des Banques Alimentaires), 71% food-aid recipients say that they are suffering from at least one health problem. The launch of this cooking-class mobile truck is part of this approach to combat food poverty and promote better public health for all.

With this roaming truck, the Mascarene Islands Food Bank wants to not only reduce the barriers to cooking the products distributed, but also to improve the food skills of aid recipients, while also supporting them towards eating a balanced diet. This initiative is a tangible and innovative response to the food and health challenges facing Réunion Island's poorest communities.