Behind the scenes of a Community Project at EM Normandie

Within the framework of Community Projects, Juliette Matha, a 3rd year post-baccalaureate student in the Master in Management (Programme Grande École) on the Caen campus, works for the development of Hop Hop Food, an association fighting against precariousness and food waste. Her tutor Jean-Claude Mizzi, co-founder of the association, congratulates the work accomplished since last October: a real success for the first edition of the Community Projects.
We interviewed them.

What are the Community Projects at EM Normandie?

Juliette: The Community Project allows a student or a group of two students to join an association that already exists outside EM Normandie and to support it either by promotional and communication actions, or by canvassing, which is what I am currently doing for Hop Hop Food.

Can you present your association in a few words?

Jean-Claude Mizzi: I am co-founder and treasurer of the Hop Hop Food association, which was created in Paris 5 years ago to fight both against food waste and against the food insecurity of the inhabitants, which has been exploding for decades and particularly at the moment with the consequences of the Covid-19.

Why did you undertake this Community Project?

Juliette: I liked the Hop Hop Food project very much from the beginning because it has both a social and environmental aspect. We help people who need it and we also contribute to reducing food waste, which is a big problem since currently a third of the food is thrown away. I am sensitive to this problem and I wanted to participate in these resolutions.

What is the Hop Hop Food project with EM Normandie?

Jean-Claude: We have several variations of our project with, on the one hand, the free food donation between private individuals which is done via an application and, on the other hand, the donation by traders of food, unsold or not, to people in their neighbourhood in a precarious situation. Juliette is involved in this second project that we initiated about eight months ago.

Within the framework of her tutored project (October 2020 to April 2021), Juliette is contributing to the development of our presence in Caen and is looking for solidarity shopkeepers in the city who are willing to donate food. Through codes, people can access free food on our platform.

At the origin of the project, we wanted to apply the idea of the Danish solution Too Good Too Go in the framework of an associative solidarity project that allows shopkeepers to offer free baskets to people in precarious situations. To identify the people concerned, we rely on the public authorities, in particular the CROUS of Normandy or the CCAS of the city of Caen.

What is the future for this project in the medium and long term?

Juliette: I have a Community Project to carry out for two semesters. In this context, my objective is to develop the network of solidarity shops in the Caen conurbation as much as possible with the help of other volunteers that we have recruited. The long-term objective for Hop Hop Food is to expand as much as possible in as many towns as possible throughout France. I intend to contribute as much as possible to the development of this network and I hope to stay as long as possible in this association.

My objective is to develop the network of solidarity shops in the Caen conurbation as much as possible.

What makes this project a success?

Jean-Claude: This project is already a great success, even in its early stages. Each time you set up in a new conurbation, as was the case with Juliette in Caen, you have to bring together the supply and demand for food, i.e. to create partnerships with shopkeepers and inform people in precarious situations that this voluntary scheme exists and that they can access it directly from their smartphone. Many of the people concerned are students.

Juliette has already succeeded in bringing together a good number of shopkeepers. She has also set up a partnership with the CROUS de Normandie, whose role is to inform all the students in the Caen conurbation of the existence of the association and who gives the access codes to this free food. 

At the association, are you satisfied with Juliette's work?

Jean-Claude: We're very happy, it's really great. It's the first time we've recruited a student through an individual tutored project. I must admit that we had some apprehension at the beginning because Juliette was alone on the project but we quickly managed to recruit a small team of volunteers who help her to develop Hop Hop Food successfully in Caen.

What will be the future of the project?

Jean-Claude: Juliette's tutored project will enable the initiative to develop in Caen and then this small group of volunteers will form the core of the association which will continue to grow the number of participating shopkeepers and the number of people who will be able to eat for free.

The shopkeepers have every interest in participating in this scheme as they defiscalise 60% of the food they give and the donations they make. It is also possible to offer something other than food. Some hairdressers, for example, offer a solidarity haircut.

Consult the Hop Hop Food website