Mourad Slimani (center), butcher based in the Minguettes district in Vénissieux, offers 165 packages each week for students in need. – C. Girardon / 20 Minutes
- Since mid-March, Mourad Slimani, butcher in Vénissieux, has been reaching out to the most precarious students.
- Every Wednesday, it distributes 165 baskets of meat and non-perishable food free of charge to help them overcome the current crisis.
- To benefit from it, you must first register with UNEF.
Reaching out to students was “obvious” for him. Mourad Slimani, butcher based in the Minguettes district in Vénissieux, who had already offered 700 packages of meat in February to families in his town, now distributes 165 packages every Wednesday to students in the Lyon area in need. Packages in which he slips hamburger steaks, homemade cordons-blues, local terrines, starchy foods, cookies, sodas and sandwich bread. “For students, we never give enough”, he emphasizes mischievously.
It is barely 1 p.m. and already more than fifty of them have discreetly pushed open the door of his establishment. Among which Stéphanie (1), originally from Madagascar. The young woman arrived in Lyon in 2019 to study geography. On Wednesday, she came especially from Bron by public transport to collect her package.
“Before, I didn’t dare ask for help”
“It will help me a lot and allow me to last 15 days,” she smiles shyly. And to confess: “Daily life is not always easy. As I do not have French nationality, I cannot do odd jobs. But anyway, the current period is not helping to find work. My mother supports me as best she can but that is not always enough ”.
Michel, a student on the La Doua campus in Villeurbanne, in turn enters the butcher’s shop. “Before, I didn’t dare ask too much for help. It’s not misplaced pride, it’s just that others are more in trouble than me, he believes. I’m lucky to have a scholarship and help from my family, so I’m not the most to be pitied ”.
On the shelves of commerce, volunteers are busy distributing the packages. Alexia, Mourad Slimani’s daughter, is in the game. “Many students come spontaneously without registering beforehand,” she notes. But we never refuse to serve them ”.
The contents of the bags were not chosen by chance. “We tried to put in useful food that is most appreciated by young people,” explains Alexia. We looked at the sales. As I am at the cash desk, I see what is generally requested the most ”. However, there is no question of offering products at a discount. Mourad Slimani relied on his network and solicited service providers with whom he is used to working, such as Zakaria, 27. Child of Minguettes and holder of a CAP in charcuterie, the young man has been making and selling homemade terrines for two years under the “Saveurs des Gones” brand.
Offer quality artisanal products
“The goal was to offer students quality artisanal products so that they can have fun,” explains the young entrepreneur, who sells nearly 200 jars free of charge every week. “It’s a financial effort, that’s for sure. But the gesture is important and my cash allows me to do it, he smiles. It gives me pleasure to be able to help ”.
“It’s in these moments that we see all the misery in the world,” sighs Costanza, a volunteer leaning behind one of the counters. Last week a customer came. He explained that he received 800 euros in retirement and had to pay 500 euros in rent. He only ate every other day ”.
The operation will be repeated every Wednesday between noon and 3:30 p.m. Registrations are made with the UNEF Lyon union.
(1) The first names of the students have been changed