Stockholms Stadsmission (Stockholm City Mission) is going to open the first social supermarket in the Swedish capital before the end of this year. HKScan is one of the collaborating food industry partners committed to donating it’s close to best-before date products to the social supermarket.
The new supermarket is the first one of its kind in the Nordic countries, inspired by the already existing models in the UK, France and Austria. In these countries, social supermarkets are well-established and highly-appreciated forms of social enterprise.
Working together to create positive outcomes
– We are very glad to be a part of this initiative. The idea is twofold; to give people in difficult economic situation the possibility to buy high-quality food at discounted prices and to reduce avoidable food waste, says Petra Blomberg, Vice President Sales Retail at HKScan. Last year, Swedish food waste was approximately 65 kg per person.
In addition, the supermarket will offer traineeships to people outside the ordinary labour market. This is a way to empower people in challenging life situations to help themselves, by giving them opportunities to learn and to gain experience in the food retail sector and logistics.
Social supermarket will be open to everyone to shop at normal retail prices and targeted, heavily-discounted (up to -70 %) goods will be offered via membership to consumers on welfare support or in similar situation.
Giving surplus food a real social purpose
All products to be sold in the supermarket will be donated from collaborating retail and food industry operators. The products are close to their best-before date, mislabelled or for other reasons difficult to sell in a normal supermarket, and would otherwise be thrown away. The target is to receive 200 tonnes of surplus food during the first year of operations.
– Social supermarket is an excellent way to engage economically vulnerable people in sustainable social and economic activities, and at the same time offer them heavily discounted, high-quality surplus food. This is where social and environmental responsibilities meet, as reducing food waste will make a positive contribution to the environment, Annelie Lundell VP Quality and CR from HKScan says.
The Swedish food retailer Axfood has been greatly involved in the project, offering not only financial support but also shared its know-how in project planning and development. On top of HKScan there are several other companies and brands engaged in the project as financing and donating partners.
For further information:
Petra Blomberg, VP Sales Retail, HKScan Sweden AB, Tel : +46 (0)76 7901064, E-mail : Petra.blomberg@hkscan.com Annelie Lundell, VP Quality and CR, HKScan Sweden AB, Tel: + 46 70 379 5526, Email: Annelie.lundell@hkscan.com
HKScan is the leading Nordic meat expert. We produce, market and sell high-quality, responsibly-produced pork, beef, poultry and lamb products, processed meats and convenience foods under strong brand names. Our customers are the retail, food service, industrial and export sectors, and our home markets comprise Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Baltics. We export to close to 50 countries. In 2014, HKScan had net sales of approximately EUR 2.0 billion and some 7700 employees.
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Stockholms Stadsmission is a nonprofit organization that works to make Stockholm a more humane city for everyone. It helps children and young people who need the support of adults, families who are struggling to make ends meet, single and young parents who need support and advice, the elderly who live in loneliness, as well as all citizens suffering from homelessness or abuse. Stockholm City Mission steps in where the public resources and efforts are not enough. Its goal is to help people build confidence in their own abilities and regain power over their own lives.