Practical information
Description
Timeline
Stakeholders
Strengths and offer
Urban logistics
Positive impacts
Needs
Logistical challenges
Practical information
What?
LOCO is a network of food aid organisations based on sharing and mutualising expertise, contacts and resources. DREAM, standing for Distribution and Recovery of Food Surplus at Mabru, is a project run by the Public Social Welfare Centre of the City of Brussels. It collects surplus food, notably from the Mabru early morning market but also from other suppliers, and redistributes it to the food aid sector.
Who?
LOCO asbl, the network’s member organisations, the Public Social Welfare Centre of the City of Brussels, Mabru, food aid associations, partner municipalities and CPAS/OCMWs. DREAM is one actor within the LOCO network, alongside other organisations, but it is not a logistical branch of LOCO.
Where?
Brussels-Capital Region, notably from the Mabru early morning market, with deliveries to beneficiary associations in different neighbourhoods, including the Marolles.
When?
DREAM has existed since mid-September 2015.
LOCO emerged from the “collaborative logistics” working group launched in 2016 by the Food Aid Concertation, and was incubated from 2017 to 2021.
LOCO asbl was created in December 2021.
Contact
LOCO asbl — info@loco.brussels — +32 (0)488 91 29 10
Romain Alaerts — coordinator — romain.alaerts@loco.brussels
DREAM / CPAS of Brussels — Esteban Jaime Tornin — project manager — esteban.jaimetornin@cpasbxl.brussels — 0492/91.55.04
Hannah Balthazar — activity cluster manager — hannah.balthazar@cpasbxl.brussels — 0476/02.33.41
Resources
www.loco.brussels ; website of the CPAS of the City of Brussels ; LOCO activity report 2022–2024 ; interview with Hannah / Justine.
Description
LOCO and DREAM respond to the same general issue: how to better organise food flows from donations and surplus in order to support Brussels food aid organisations. But the two systems do not play the same role.
DREAM is a structured logistics system run by the CPAS of the City of Brussels. It recovers fruit, vegetables and other surplus food, notably from Mabru, then sorts, stores and records availability before preparing orders for beneficiary associations. It then organises deliveries to different neighbourhoods.
LOCO is a network for mutualisation, coordination and support between food aid organisations. It connects donors and associations, supports surplus donations, mutualises vehicles and storage spaces, develops tools such as the Donation Exchange, and helps structure the sector more effectively.
The interest of this case is to show that food aid is not only a matter of generosity or available food. It is also demanding logistics: collecting early, sorting quickly, storing in cold rooms, delivering to the right place, respecting regulations, managing saturated small sites and adapting flows to the real needs of associations.
Timeline
2015
Launch of DREAM at Mabru.
2016
Logistical diagnosis of the sector by the Food Aid Concertation.
2017–2021
Incubation of the LOCO network.
December 2021
Creation of LOCO asbl.
2023–2024
More than 1,500 tonnes distributed to 120 organisations by members of the network.
Stakeholders
Food aid associations, local branches, field organisations and receiving structures, including some located in the Marolles.
The CPAS of the City of Brussels, which runs the DREAM project.
Mabru, participating traders and food companies donating surplus.
LOCO asbl, as a network for mutualisation, coordination, advocacy and logistical support.
The Food Aid Concertation, FdSS and advocacy or regulatory partners, including AFSCA, Comeos, FEVIA, Brussels Mobility and Brussels Environment.
Partner municipalities and CPAS/OCMWs, which participate in the food aid and redistribution ecosystem.
Strengths and offer
Collection and redistribution of fresh surplus food to the food aid sector.
Logistical support for associations, especially smaller structures that do not always have the vehicles, staff, storage or tools they need.
Connection between food companies willing to donate and receiving organisations.
Mutualisation of logistical resources for the benefit of smaller actors.
Shared tools and procedures: toolbox, library, Donation Exchange, support and documentation.
Redistribution of fresh and healthy products to a larger number of organisations.
Socio-professional integration through DREAM and Article 60 contracts.
Advocacy capacity with key actors in order to improve rules, practices and redistribution conditions.
Very concrete anchoring in Brussels logistics realities, including dense neighbourhoods such as the Marolles.
Urban logistics
How does it work?
DREAM collects surplus fruit and vegetables very early in the morning from Mabru traders and other suppliers. The food is sorted, stored in cold rooms, recorded on the Donation Exchange, then prepared as orders. Associations are then delivered, generally between 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. LOCO, for its part, structures a collaboration framework between actors: matchmaking, mutualisation, support for donations, sharing of vehicles or storage spaces, and coordination between different systems.
Why is it interesting?
Because this case shows that food aid is shaped by very strong logistical constraints. Surplus food can become a resource, but only if someone can recover it in time, sort it, store it, redistribute it and comply with sanitary rules. Logistics becomes a condition for food justice: better organised flows can improve the quantity, quality and diversity of food aid, while freeing up time for social support.
Which obstacles does it respond to?
Dependence of associations on surplus food, rising food insecurity, lack of logistical resources in small organisations, difficulties with collection and storage, risk that still-edible food becomes waste, lack of buffer spaces, cold-chain constraints, narrow streets, difficult parking and the need for fine coordination between donors, platforms and receivers.
Identified nodes / obstacles
Transport; complex delivery rounds; multiple small delivery points; buffer storage; cold rooms; freezing capacity; cost of urban square metres; freshness constraints; early morning work; short delivery windows; handling; shift from truck to van or cargo bike; AFSCA standards; traceability; redistribution procedures.
Positive impacts
Environment — reduction of food waste by preventing still-edible food from becoming waste; better recovery of food surplus.
Space — possibility of better organising food aid flows in dense neighbourhoods, by working on storage, unloading and redistribution spaces.
Neighbourhood — concrete support for local associations responding to food insecurity, including in neighbourhoods such as the Marolles.
Social relations — stronger links between donors, logistics platforms, associations, CPAS/OCMWs, municipalities and beneficiaries; possible freeing up of time for social support rather than only flow management.