Confederazione Nazionale delle Misericordie d’Italia 

Emergency Area – Social Protection

Solidarity shops

Solidarity shops are part of the larger project “Case del Noi – Our Home”, and aim to provide practical help to families or individuals struggling to obtain basic food items.

Italian version

Indicazioni per la conservazione del cibo

The idea originates from the long-standing experience of the “Dodici Ceste – Twelve baskets”, a network of shops established by the Misericordia of Florence, which has been dealing with this kind of situation for many years.

The project we aim to develop is based on the following key points:

• Dignity of the person: the central idea of the project is to alleviate the discomfort of people in distress, by making the shopping experience as close as possible to that of an everyday grocery shop

• Fighting poverty: recent pandemics have brought to light new cases of poverty, creating a need for practical support to help people manage their everyday life.

Based on these two pillars, the Confederation seeks to extend the “Solidarity Shops” project to a national level through the local Misericordie.

To participate in the “Solidarity Shops” project, registration in the “Our Home” programme is required.

If you want to establish a “Solidarity Shop” within your Misericordia, please send an email to:

casadelnoi@misericordie.org
emporisolidali@misericordie.org

Register your Shop

Is your Misericordia interested in opening a “Solidarity Shop”? These are the fundamental points to set up the project:

• The space: the first essential step for each Misericordia is to find a physical location for the shop. It should be around 70 m2, but its size can be assessed on an individual basis according to the needs of each association. It can be a location already owned by the Misericordia or provided free of charge by local institutions, such as the Municipality, the Province, or by other associations or organisations, such as the Parish

• Furniture and equipment: the Confederation will provide all materials required to start the project and furnish each shop. This includes shelving, as well as all the equipment necessary for the shop’s operational activities, such as computers, phones, printers etc.

• Supplies: a fundamental part of the project is identifying ways to provide basic food items to distribute. The Confederation will support each Misericordia in the accreditation process with “Banco Alimentare” (Food Bank) and will conclude agreements with small and medium-sized suppliers. Agreements with private actors can be possible as well 

Training: it is essential that every volunteer working in the shop is adequately trained to welcome visitors and manage the space. For this reason, the Confederation provides adequate training to all the volunteers.

The technical and administrative departments of the National Confederation will provide ongoing support to the training.

Solidarity Shop