The world seen from the store

September 19, 2021: the bell of the Emporio Speranza in via Pinerolo 5 rings. It is the first family that accesses the distribution of food in this new form.
September 19, 2022: 517 families passed for a total of 1,663 people, almost 100,000 kilos of food distributed, 35 volunteers for approximately 3,200 hours of service, 1 professional internship for a man who is trying to rebuild his life.

But Emporio Speranza are not just numbers, however significant, they are faces, stories, sometimes tears, gratitude. It was born from the desire to go beyond the package packed by volunteers, giving users the opportunity to choose what they need. For this, a larger space is needed. We have come to know that in the neighborhood AMIAT, the waste company, has received from the Municipality of Turin on loan for use some spaces in via Pinerolo 5 that they no longer use. We ask to be able to use them and in 2019 we enter: dilapidated, dirty, illegally inhabited spaces. We arrange them, furnished with materials donated by companies, but then the pandemic breaks out, the store project stops to open the doors to Torino Solidale.
A network experience with 15 other realities and the Municipality of Turin as leader to face the economic difficulties of those who have lost their jobs due to the lockdown. 25 thousand families assigned throughout Turin, thousands of tons of food distributed monthly for 18 months. In September 2021, as the number of families has decreased somewhat, the time has come to move on to the general store. In a few days the shelves are filled with rice, pasta, oil, milk, biscuits, price tags are placed for each product… almost a real shop! Phone calls to make an appointment, volunteers in fibrillation, excited about this evolution in distribution.

On February 19, 2021 the doorbell rings, the first is Grace, a mother with two children, the second is Luigi, an elderly man who lives alone, enraged by life and the difficulties he faces. Luigi complained every time he came to pick up the package, nothing was ever right. When we see him in the arch of the door, we look at each other and without saying a word, we all think: «Let's start uphill, who knows what he will tell us today!». The volunteer accompanies him, explains the rules, gives him his points card and goes shopping with him. At the end of the lap, he calls me into the courtyard, I approach a little shyly or perhaps scared, he seems to understand him and with a smile he says: « Thank you! I'm happy, you did a really nice thing! Finally I can choose what I need most, without wasting anything!».

The emporium is this smile, the thanks of those who feel they no longer have the label of the poor who must take food chosen by others, albeit with love.
From the first days, we realize that the emporium is not a simple solidarity "shop", but much more. The convenience store gives dignity because everyone is the protagonist of their own shopping, so much so that sometimes someone complains about the higher prices in the supermarket: in reality, nobody pays in the convenience store because people use points assigned based on the number of family members and which are symbolically worth 1 euro each. It is an educational place, because it helps the mother, who is often at home for cultural reasons, speaks little Italian, to manage a monthly budget, learning to prioritize and value things. Furthermore, users are asked to respect the appointment: not to be precise and fussy, but because by learning to respect the appointment received, one grows up respecting every other appointment received, from the doctor, from the teachers, in the offices, contributing in the small to the integration of the family. A group of mothers who have children under the age of one is offered an accompanying path to parenthood. The volunteers help them choose the right products for their children, but above all they listen to them, talk to them, encourage them when needed, organize meetings with experts. In May, a pediatrician offered its expertise on how to manage risks at home. In July, two dental hygienists showed the basic rules for correct dental hygiene. Valletta special for the occasion a 6-year-old girl, Fatima, who together with other children "played" brushing their teeth. The general store is a place where nothing is wasted, but everything has a value.

Even the TMC products, those that have the wording "best before", are used in compliance with the rules of the Gadda law on food waste, which is explained to users who choose whether to get them by paying half price The store is a place for relationships , listening, dialogue. , of the difficulties encountered in everyday life, of their children, adding precious pieces to the socio-economic situation of the family that emerged during the initial interview, necessary to access the service.
This summer the experience was also enriched by the young people welcomed to the Arsenale della Pace for experiences of service and training.

Their freshness and availability integrated perfectly with the willingness of the volunteers to include them in the services. Even the children, at home for the holidays, appreciated their presence. The store was colored with games, bicycles, scooters, toy cars and dolls, and while the children waited for their mother to do the shopping, they had fun playing and then taking a toy home. Difficult to describe the joy and amazement of these children when they saw the courtyard so festive! Food, necessary to support critical situations, becomes a tool for getting to know the family and building a more effective individualized project. In recent months, orientation courses have been offered for occupational safety, pastry and tailoring courses, kids' summer for children, music school, sports, baby parking to give mothers the opportunity to attend courses, medical visits and psychological support courses, CAF desk.

In collaboration with some charitable foundations, thirty families have been included in digitization courses and ten mothers in a training project for mothers and newborns.
In short, food, so important in these years in which we are passing from one economic crisis to another, from the pandemic to the war in Ukraine, as well as feeding bellies, is enriched in value, feeding hearts and minds, becoming a point of reference, always open, even in August, ready to welcome, listen, encourage, sometimes encourage for the good of all, because if we are all better off, society improves.

Christian Capitani
NPFOCUS - Our home
NP October 2023