Groundbreaking French Waste Law Triggers Broader Rethink on ConsumptionGroundbreaking French Waste Law Triggers Broader Rethink on Consumption

VOANews.com

By early afternoon, the Salvation Army’s “social grocery store” is filling up. The mostly female clientele arrives with fistfuls of bags and trolleys, unwrapping scarves that had cut a bracing wind. 

Volunteers have freshly stocked the shelves with gleaming rows of canned vegetables and pasta. A small refrigerated section carries yoghurt, milk and meat, just shy of their sell-by dates. 

For the hundred or so families who shop here — paying only a small “social contribution” for their purchases — the Salvation Army store is a buffer against hunger.

“I especially come here for the meat,” said Zina Tigrine a single mother of two, who arrived with a friend. “It’s a precious help when you’re really in need.” 

Until now the store, located just across the Paris city limits, has relied on voluntary donations from two city supermarkets. But under a new law, those donations are now mandatory.

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