How is a company's performance and impact truly measured? Usually, we talk about balance sheets, income, and net profits. But more and more companies are also incorporating another way to evaluate their activity, translating part of their economic business into tangible social impact. Grup Bon Preu is an example of this: it has decided to leverage usual dynamics of its commercial activity, such as surplus management or point-of-sale transactions, into direct funding for social projects.
This is the context for the "Una generació amb empenta" (A generation with drive) initiative, promoted by Grup Bon Preu together with social entities Educo and Fundesplai. In its first year, the project has managed to exceed initial forecasts: the goal was to subsidize about 36,000 school meals, but the final figure has almost tripled to a total of 99,352 meals, thanks to the 294,093 euros raised by the group for this initiative. In total, the project has benefited 601 children in early childhood and primary education from 81 public and private centers in Catalonia. Of these, 43 are in the Barcelona metropolitan area, 13 of which are in the city itself.
The project is developed in a context where access to school meal scholarships is limited and unequal. In fact, one in three children is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and more than 84,000 children do not have sufficient food in terms of animal protein, with a low intake of foods such as meat, chicken, or fish. In this scenario, school meal scholarships subsidized by the Generalitat, which allow children to have one of their daily meals in the school cafeteria, are consolidated as one of the main tools to support families. However, only 20.6% of students have access to them.
Therefore, a large part of families must bear the full cost of the service, which this academic year has been setat 7.54 euros daily in Catalonia.This figure represents one of the highest in the entire State and can reach to represent up to 19% of the income of the most vulnerable families.A figure that, in fact, will increase in the coming years, as the average price of the shopping basket continues to rise. "Food is the fuel for child development, as it provides the essential energy and nutrients for growth and learning, and for this reason it is key to ensure that, at a minimum, one of these meals a day is healthy and of quality," warns Carles Xifra, general director of Fundesplai. In addition, as the deputy general director of Educo, Guiomar Todó, reminds us, the value of school lunch goes beyond food and incorporates an educational and social dimension:"It is not only about a healthy meal, but also about an educational leisure and reconciliation space."Given the limitations of the public system to cover all existing demand for school meal scholarships, some private companies have come into play to reinforce available resources. This is the case of Grup Bon Preu, which promotes this solidarity initiative with the will, in the words of its marketing director, Manel Prat, to "provide the maximum resources for children" and to act as "small providers who contribute to responding to this social reality."
When food waste becomes social action
The funding for this school meal program comes mainly from the sale of bakery products with a near expiration date, at a reduced price, through the platform Too Good To Go. These anti-waste packs are sold in 154 establishments of the group throughout the territory and the net profits from their sale are entirely allocated to these school menus. Currently, these packs are made exclusively with products from the bakery section of the supermarkets, although the group does not rule out expanding the initiative given its good reception.
Although the resources raised through Too Good To Go constitute the main source of funding for this solidarity initiative aimed at financing school meals, the project also incorporates other mechanisms, such as direct contributions from the group itself through its budget or solidarity rounding at the checkout. This rounding system, which Grup Bon Preu was one of the first to implement in Catalonia, allows customers to make micro-donations at the time of payment.
Monthly, this system generates about 25,000 euros, which are allocated on a rotating basis to different social entities. Given the diversity of needs and organizations in Catalonia, the Bon Preu Group changes the beneficiary cause each month, with the aim of covering different social areas and avoiding repetitions. Thus, last year, these contributions were allocated to entities such as Oxfam Intermón, Open Arms or the Stroke Foundation, among others. Exceptionally, the month of December is fixedly allocated to the financing of school menus, an initiative that the group maintains every year within its social responsibility calendar.
Finally, another of the financing pillars of this social program is citizen mobilization through events. Thus, on May 31, Grup Bon Preu will celebrate the second edition of the Arrossada Solidària, which expects to gather some 1,200 people thanks to gastronomic proposals, cultural activities, and the concert by Doctor Prats. Tickets will be priced at 25 euros for adults and 12 euros for children aged three and over, and all proceeds will go to these school meals.