At the City Council meeting on June 14, the assembly unanimously voted to establish a solidarity canteen for seniors. This is a way to help the most vulnerable among them access a quality meal in the face of rising living costs.
A solidarity restaurant for seniors was one of the main deliberations on the agenda at the City Council meeting on June 14. Christian Estrosi himself presented this project. This idea is set against an inflationary context where the cost of living leads to deprivations among the most vulnerable strata of the population. And seniors, who make up nearly 30% of Nice’s population, are part of this group.
In this regard, the municipality will offer a complete, quality, and well-prepared meal for only three euros to non-taxable seniors. 100 seniors can be accommodated each day at 9 Rue Alsace-Lorraine in the already existing solidarity restaurant of Face 06. They will be served by students employed by the establishment.
The meals served will be prepared in the central kitchen of Nice. The most significant investment of the former mayor’s term currently allows for the production of 28,000 meals per day for the city’s schools. To meet this challenge, the municipality is partnering with Malakoff Humanis, the social protection group that “will cover two euros of the five-euro cost price.” The CCAS, the student association Face 06, and Hetis, the school of social workers, are also rallying around this project.
A Social Link Vector
The aim of this solidarity restaurant is not just to feed isolated seniors. Through a service and setup akin to any restaurant, the idea is also to allow some to rediscover social connections. It’s also a means “to regain a sense of dignity in society and to find a sense of desire.”
Precarity often leads to social withdrawal. Therefore, activities will be planned before and after each meal by the Senior Directorate. “We are likely the first in France, at the level of a major city, to take such an initiative, in these socially challenging times for some of our fellow citizens, to bring them a bit of well-being and joy of living,” mentioned the mayor of Nice before the unanimous adoption of the measure.
