Seine-Saint-Denis launches Vital’im, a check against food insecurity

In the form of a credit card, this food voucher aims to allow households in the greatest difficulty to feed themselves and eat better quality products.

Poverty in France remains stable, but some deprivations are increasing. This is the result of the latest studies on the budget of the French. A third of them have difficulty in making three meals a day. To combat food insecurity, Seine-Saint-Denis, the poorest department in metropolitan France, has just launched a “sustainable” food voucher, in coordination with the NGO Action against Hunger. The experiment will concern 1,350 people until 2027: seniors, young pregnant women, young mothers and students. The objective: to help the most precarious to eat better.

This project, called Vital’im, began at the beginning of the month in Montreuil, and 215 households received their card of the same name. It works like a lunch card credited with 50 euros per person in the household at the beginning of each month. Milène therefore received 200 euros for herself, her partner and their two children. Usually, at this time of the month, she doesn’t buy anything anymore.

“From the 15th onwards, there is often no money left even to go shopping. There is no meal morning, noon and night. There are times when you open the cupboard and there is nothing. But you pretend you are fine. You pretend not to see it, not to eat, so as not to think about it.” This card for his family is first and foremost a breath of fresh air.

“I no longer worry about how the end of the month will go, will there be something to eat. No. I manage to pay, to be up to date with my bills because with that, honestly since it started: better atmosphere at home, everyone is on their plate, everyone is full, it helps us, you know.”

Milène, beneficiary of Vital’im

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Ludivine plans to use this card to go out to eat somewhere with her family. “I’ve been wanting to take my kids out to eat somewhere, to a restaurant, for a long time. I plan to do it with the menu.”she explains. Ludivine also participated in cooking workshops supervised by a dietician organized by the Secours populaire de Montreuil as part of this Vital’im project.

The Vital’im card has a special feature: purchases of “sustainable” products such as fresh fruit and vegetables are valued. An example is this cheese that Milène now buys in the organic store near her home. She paid 5 euros with her card, which was immediately credited with 2.50 euros, and reported on her mobile phone. “I didn’t go back, I didn’t dare, I told myself it wasn’t for me. Now I’m going back.” A bonus that encouraged her to change her eating habits. “I eat tomato salads… Even my sisters when they see that they laugh, they say it’s not you, I say yes! Because I discovered it, I can now buy that.”

Vital’im is not just a simple card, explains Mathilde Fassollette, project manager for Action Against Hunger. “We have local associations that offer activities to Vital’im card users around food, cooking workshops, managing your budget in relation to food. These are the two aspects: monetary transfer and health and nutrition support.”

“We hope that this will really help to improve a change in practice to move towards a more sustainable diet.”

Mathilde Fassollette, project manager for Action Against Hunger.

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Mission accomplished with Paul, 61, who now cooks what he learned in the workshop. “Like a bean salad, it serves as meat, it replaces it. Because, well, you have to be careful with everything.”

The project is due to last until 2027, and will be deployed in three other towns in Seine-Saint-Denis: Clichy-sous-Bois, Villetaneuse and SevranTotal cost: 2.3 million euros, of which 1.5 million is financed by the State.