The anti-gaspi short circuit against food insecurity

Le Chainon Manquant logo
Le Chainon Manquant
Action zones
Île-de-France
Nouvelle-Aquitaine

The project

SolidarityCircular economy
Le Chainon Manquant collects quality fresh food surpluses from professionals, then redistributes them within 2 hours to local solidarity associations, offering a healthier, more varied diet to people in precarious situations.
10
millions
of people in food insecurity in France in 2022
10
millions
tonnes of food wasted in France every year
2,4
millions
of high-quality fresh meals distributed by Le Chainon Manquant to solidarity associations

Solution

To improve access for the most disadvantaged to varied, quality food, Le Chainon Manquant offers an anti-gasping, solidarity-based scheme adapted to fresh, fragile produce.
Every day, Le Chainon Manquant volunteers collect surplus quality foodstuffs (fruit, vegetables, proteins, most often already cooked)from professionals - in particular from events and collective catering - then immediately redistribute them to nearby solidarity associations (solidarity distributions, solidarity restaurants, shelters, social grocery stores ...), according to their needs, to help people in precarious situations.

In 2023, over 150 tons of food were saved from destruction by 320 dynamic and committed volunteers.
This represented the equivalent of over 300,000 quality meals distributed to over 80 solidarity associations and the thousands of people in precarious circumstances they support.

Relive our anti-gaspi and solidarity games with us!
Relive our anti-gaspi and solidarity games with us!
Dear Captains, 

😊 We wanted to share with you a highlight of our year and our story: our participation in the Games this summer to collect surplus food from the Ile-de-France competition venues and redistribute it to solidarity associations. 

🗓️ We'd been talking about it for 6 years, preparing for it for months... and  nothing turned out the way we'd imagined!
😱 We feared our volunteers would go on vacation... but over 100 new, over-motivated recruits joined us! We thought they'd be put off by the improbable hours of the missions... but they told us, their eyes filled with wonder, of the rising sun at the competition sites and the "kiff" of the Olympic lanes on the ring road... 🤩
😱 We dreaded that the associations would be closed and that the capacity of the ecosystem would be limited during the summer... but we forged our finest inter-associative links and experienced a fantastic collective adventure.
And of course, we had our difficulties and our big bouts of fatigue... but every athlete knows: the more intense the effort, the stronger the emotions! ❤️

🥇  84,000 quality fresh meals collected and redistributed later, we're happy to share some of our memories for life with you!

🙏 THANK YOU CAPTAINS for your loyal support, which enabled us to attend and place eco-responsibility and solidarity at the heart of this extraordinary event!!!
We carry the flame in the name of your commitment!
We carry the flame in the name of your commitment!
Dear Captains,

🔥  This Sunday, June 23, Le Chainon Manquant carried the Olympic flame in the name of its values and the commitment of all of you  🔥

Valérie, president of Le Chainon Manquant, had the honor of concluding the relay in the stage town of Annemasse in Haute-Savoie. Cheered on by an over-vitalized chainon fan club 🍓🍋🍆🍇🥕, she received an incredible welcome on her arrival at Place de la Libération.

❤️ What emotion to carry the values of Olympism, peace and unity that our world so badly needs today, and to see 10,000 people gather in the heart of the city to cheer them on!

A great visibility for our issues and a magnificent recognition for our often discreet action behind the scenes of the biggest events as well as the finest solidarity associations!

🤩 What pride, finally, to carry this flame in the name of sharing and the collective and in the name of all of you, our teams, volunteers, partners and supporters who are committed every day to less waste and more sharing, so that the food treasures of some can change the lives of others!
Bravo to you for your commitment!!!

If the Olympic flame thrills you, don't hesitate to join us in the field this summer to collect surplus food from the biggest competition venues in the Ile de France region and redistribute it to solidarity associations (early bird advisory):
I'm signing up as a "chainon" for the Games

THANK YOU!

The money will be used for

Le Chainon Manquant is facing new challenges: 
  • a decrease and greater volatility in solidarity donations from professionals linked to the boom in the sale of surpluses at knock-down prices;
  • increased needs of associations in the face of exploding food insecurity.

The association must today transform itself to adapt to the new conditions of food donations and maximize its offer of quality meals for the associations supported! 

Thanks to the difts received, Le Chainon Manquant will be able to:  
  • professionalize its teams by recruiting an operations manager to better manage this new complexity;
  • initiate a digital transformation project to gain efficiency and adopt a more opportunistic operating mode;
  • cover sharply rising operational and logistical costs ;
  • multiply partnerships and develop its collection circuits;
  • develop and ever better listen to and support solidarity associations in their missions;

And thus give access to quality food to more people in difficulty!
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6
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4
6

quality meals

already funded
2013 difts
Why we love it?

Combining the fight against food waste, the fight against precariousness and quality food is the (very) successful gamble of Le Chaînon Manquant: we can't help but endorse this ingenious ecological and social innovation!

I'd like any quality surplus, the fruit of the earth's riches and our labor, to be useful to the men, women and children who need it.
Le Chainon Manquant logo
Valérie de Margerie
Co-founder and President
Dift gem
2024 promotion
Le Chainon Manquant is a certified association meeting these six criteria:
Financial stability
Innovation
Ambition
Governance
Transparency
Systemic impact
Sustainable development goals
hungerhealthcitiesconsumption
More infos
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