The anti-gaspi short circuit against food insecurity

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!!!

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!

Hello Captains!
A word to celebrate with you our integration of the new class of 2024 🥳
Where there's a new class there's a new, strengthened team to meet new ambitions!
In particular, we had the joy of welcoming Matthias this March to take charge of operations for the Ile-de-France region, and that's thanks to you and your support - a huge thank you 🙏
Many challenges - particularly sporting - await the Ile-de-France team this year.
Waiting to tell you more, we're happy to introduce you to our Paris 2024 team!!
See you soon,
The Chaînon Manquant team

WHAT? already the last day of January?! 😯
No time to land in 2024 when the Chaînon Manquant has already set off again for a new year in the service of solidarity associations, which need our help more than ever!

But before we talk about the new projects coming up, we really must stop for a moment to tell you about our volunteers who take turns every day in the field and compete with courage and tenacity to meet the challenges of our solidarity and anti-gaspi action. 

- In 2023, no less than 321 volunteers are committed to our antennas, which representsseveral thousands of volunteer hours in the field but also beyond! 🤩

- Despite a significant drop in supply volumes, together we collected and revalorized over 150 tons of fresh produce in 2023, equivalent to around 310,000 meals (or 27 elephants well plumped 🐘)   

- And finally, the year ended with a very fine recognition of the impact of our action, notably rewarded by the Trophées ESS de la Ville de Paris 

All this has been made possible not only by the commitment of our volunteers, but also thanks to that of our partners and patrons, who have collectively supported the Chaînon Manquant project since 2014, and of which Captain Cause difters have been a full part for the past year. So on behalf of the whole team, a IMMENSE THANK YOU to you 🫶 !

All that remains is for us to wish you a wonderful 2024 committed year full of joy, meaning, positive impacts ... and above all, difts ! 

And it's partly thanks to you! 🏆
These trophies are awarded annually by the City of Paris to 12 local projects with a strong social and environmental impact. We were delighted to celebrate this award alongside éthi'Kdo - la carte cadeau écologique et solidaire, Brasserie de l'Être, PikPik Environnement, La Belle Empreinte, Campus Market, Comptoir dionysien, Fédération Envie, Le RéPAR, NOUR, Change Please, and Association Lit Up, other great projects to discover, last Thursday November 30 in the Grand Salon of the Hôtel de Ville. 
Our daily action in the fight against food waste and precariousness across Paris and beyond is only possible thanks to the support of our partners, our volunteers and above all, our generous Captains and patrons. This victory is also yours! 
A big thank you to one and all 🙏, 
The Chaînon Manquant team 

October 16 is National Day against Food Waste: a day to highlight the progress and efforts still to be made, individually and collectively, to reduce food waste in France. ♻️🥗
On this occasion, we invite you to discover the tribune published in Le Monde on September 29, signed by a number of anti-waste, solidarity and sustainable food players (including our president, Valérie). For us, it's a question of encouraging the public authorities to put all the players concerned back around the table:
-> to address the problems - and in particular the drop in the quantity and quality of donations offered to associations to the detriment of the most vulnerable populations,
-> to go further in raising awareness among players, enforcing regulations and developing collective resources and tools,
-> to give new impetus to the fight against food waste, in particular by relaunching the National pact to combat food waste at a standstill since 2020,💪
Find here the complete tribune and the list of signatories in free access:
Tribune Le Monde / Journée contre gaspillage

"Thanks to the support of our partners and loyal donors, this year's Chaînon manquant once again worked wonders at the French Open 🎾! 
During three weeks, our volunteers and employees took turns in the wee hours of the morning - and sometimes several times a day - to collect the equivalent of 10500 meals of fresh produce for over 20 beneficiary associations in the Ile-de-France region! 💪
A HUGE THANK YOU to all those who support us, financially and humanely, in this great adventure in the service of others and the planet 🙏🏻
As a bonus, a small photo of the team invited on May 25 by the FFT for a memorable qualifying match. 

A 15 m2 office just for us, to meet, organize our tours, receive our volunteers, call our professional partners, respond to associations ... A base camp at Les Arches Citoyennes right in the heart of Paris, right next to the Hôtel de Ville, in an ecosystem full of promise and rich in actors committed to a better future! Not a bad view, eh?

The first donations received already cover more than 5 months' rent (special association rate) and allow us to see ahead. THANK YOU :-)

Our needs related to cleaning or storing our crates and transport bins remain unmet - the place pre-identified for this in Nanterre burnt down (!) - but it's a great start and we already feel much stronger to pursue our antigaspi and solidarity mission.