Acting in the face of the crisis: our emergency and solidarity plan

Aware of the exceptional nature of the current crisis, we have decided to take unprecedented measures and set up an emergency and solidarity plan in line with our two areas of work, Citizen Art and Sustainable Food, in our two countries of intervention, France and Spain. Two countries hit hard by the consequences of COVID-19. Through our actions, we want to support our current partners but also to help those who support the most vulnerable populations.

How can we take part, at our level, in the solidarity effort deployed in France and Spain? Like many other organizations, we had to question our working methods and (re)evaluate our possibilities of intervention to support organizations in a short time. As a family foundation that places social transformation in the fields of art and food at the heart of its project, we are of course deeply affected by the crisis we are experiencing. A crisis that affects projects and their leaders at the economic, human and social levels… and which also invites us to think about tomorrow.

Supporting our partners today and tomorrow

Our actions initially targeted the projects already supported by the Foundation, the most affected by the crisis, in order to enable them to get through it. To do this, we act, following a study of each case, at different scales:

• Listening : We have contacted many project leaders, partners of the Foundation, since the beginning of the crisis and we invite all those who have difficulties to get in touch with us.
• Cash flow : early release of payments, one-off assistance during this period.
• Activities : Suspension, until further notice, of the obligations to monitor and implement the activities we fund for “ongoing” projects.

All requests are examined by our teams and, if necessary, by an expert or an instructor through an accelerated procedure.

Our 2020 calls for projects have also been extended in both France and Spain in our two areas, in order to allow project leaders to manage their emergencies as a priority.

Providing emergency aid to structures caring for vulnerable groups

In France, in coordination with the Fondation de France, and individually in Spain, we have also decided to set up emergency aid for structures caring for the most vulnerable groups. The identification of these structures is the result of joint work between our experts, programme managers, network heads, etc.

Among the initiatives that we have decided to support to date are actions of solidarity, structuring and support, research or innovation:

On the Sustainable Food component

In France and Spain, we support the production of quality meals, made as often as possible from fresh, local, agroecological and/or organic products, for the most disadvantaged people, the homeless who are not confined, residents of squats or informal camps, people hosted in social hotels or emergency accommodation centres, asylum seekers, unaccompanied foreign minors, etc. :

• Cesal : to distribute food and hygiene baskets to 300 families and meals, prepared in a municipal kitchen, to 250 families in different areas of the city of Madrid.
• Aldeas Infantiles : to distribute vouchers for food and health products to 50 vulnerable families in different regions of Spain, as well as to provide them with psychological and educational support. Learn more here.
• Fundación Ayuda en acción : to meet the food needs of 100 vulnerable families in Spain, and provide them with IT tools to facilitate children’s access to distance education during the lockdown. Learn more here.
• El Pa Sencer SCCL : to distribute fruit and vegetable baskets to 200 vulnerable people in Barcelona, through a distribution centre that supplies ecological school canteens with products from 45 producers in Catalonia.
• Menjadors Ecològics : for the commissioning of the kitchens of the kindergartens in Palma de Mallorca, closed during the health crisis, in order to distribute meals to children. Learn more here.
• Orduña City Council : to provide meals to vulnerable people and adapt the services of the municipal kitchen of this town in the Spanish Basque Country.
• Nutrición sin Fronteras (Nsf): to recover surplus food and distribute it to the most vulnerable, with the aim of supporting 10,000 people, in Barcelona. One of the major challenges is to find new sources of supply in the context of confinement. Read more about what NSF is doing here.
• Baluchon: to support its production of 1000 meals per day in Ile de France. More information on their food solidarity actions here.
• Food sweet food: to provide 1150 meals per day in Ile de France Read more about their actions here.
• Bou’Sol: to distribute more than 8000 meals a day in the Marseille metropolis and ensure the production of organic bread. More information on Bou’sol’s actions during the crisis.
• UGESS: to finance the operation and food purchases for the populations in precarious situations served by the 80 social and solidarity grocery stores that are members of this network, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Bourgogne Franche-Comté regions. More information on UGÈS’ actions in the face of COVID.
• Jardins de cagne: to provide solidarity baskets of fresh produce to people in precarious situations in rural areas in France, in order to contribute to a balanced diet. Read more about their actions here.
• Espigoladors Foundation: to promote access to food for disadvantaged people, in support of their “Conservas que cuidan” campaign. Through the development of compotes and creams for a support network present in different areas of Barcelona, the Foundation responds to the needs of 2200 people in precarious situations. Learn more here.
• Ana Bella Foundation: to promote access to sustainable food for women victims of violence in Spain, whose situation has worsened by the lockdown, through baskets of local products or help to buy food products in local shops. Read more about their actions in the face of the crisis here.

We also support farmers weakened by the crisis:

• Solidarité Paysans: to strengthen the support of farmers in difficulty in France, particularly on the legal aspect, and to help public institutions deal with these difficulties. More information on their actions during the crisis here.
• Terre 2 cultures : to organize and facilitate the integration of refugees through employment on farms in France.

Finally, we document the situation of agriculture and food stakeholders in France and Spain, in order to help stakeholders identify unmet needs, anticipate future challenges, and gather now the field data that will feed tomorrow’s reflections on “the world after”.

• Terralim and the RMT local food : for its survey on agricultural and food resilience during the Covid-19 crisis in France, Spain and internationally. We invite you to read the sharing bulletins of the survey “eating in the time of coronavirus” on the RMT Alimentation Locale website.

On the Citizen Art component:

In response to this serious situation, we are providing support to the artists and cultural professionals most affected and weakened by the crisis.

• Cité internationale des arts: in partnership with the Cité, we have launched a programme of artists’ residencies offering them a living and working space, financial support and a conducive artistic environment, for a period of six months. Learn more about this new program here.
• Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs: to support its students weakened by the crisis, EnsAD has created an Emergency Social Assistance Fund
• Artagon: To award emergency scholarships, through the creation of a support fund, to art school students in precarious or distressed situations due to the current crisis. Learn more here.
• Atelier des artistes en exil : to provide assistance to artists in exile in France, in precarious situations and particularly affected in this context of crisis. Find out more about the association’s campaign in this context of confinement.
• MCD/ Makery : to collect initiatives, inform and coordinate makers and the general public on the creation and manufacture of emergency equipment. This online media for “do-it-yourselfers” disseminates information about the creative communities and the scene of labs, fablabs and other third places. Learn more here.

We also provide special support for projects aimed at people who are victims of exclusion, discrimination or in a situation of isolation:

• FeelU: to equip ageing well and disability structures in France with VR (Virtual Reality) kits allowing immersive journeys (for staff and residents) in order to break isolation, bring well-being and escape in a particularly difficult context of confinement for these people. Learn more about what FeelU does.
• Valiente Bangla : to provide emergency support to the Bangladeshi immigrant community in the Lavapiés neighborhood of Madrid. The association promotes the rights of immigrants, cultural exchanges and living together. Learn more here.
• Asociación Popular de Vendedores Ambulantes de Barcelona : to distribute food aid, the purchase of equipment for the preparation of sanitary equipment and the creation of a fund to help volunteers in an irregular situation. The association works for the integration of street vendors and the fight against racism.
• Asociación Nomadas : for emergency food, housing and support aid for women, LGTBIQ migrants.
• Fundación Tomillo: to reduce the digital divide of young people at risk of social exclusion in Madrid, by providing them with IT tools to facilitate their distance learning. Learn more here.
• Little Brothers of the Poor : for the purchase of 4G tablets for isolated people in nursing homes, accompanied by volunteers during the lockdown.
• The project kit : to equip and support families and teachers in digital uses as part of an educational project carried out by the schools where their children are educated. This crowdfunding platform is dedicated to educational projects from kindergarten to high school. Learn more here.

On social innovation:

• La Bolsa Social: to support their impact investing call for SSE projects in Spain that aim to find viable, innovative and adapted solutions to the Covid crisis. Read more about this unprecedented call and the alliance of co-funders involved in the project here.

Rebuilding together

To help associations overcome the crisis, we have decided to contribute, alongside the Fondation de France and the JM Bruneau Foundation, to France Active’s “Pacte Relance Solidaire” program, which takes the form of zero-interest loans.

This scheme, offered as part of the Solidarity Recovery programme, consists of personalised support from the France Active network and interest-free loans. These interest-free loans can amount to up to €100k, over 12 to 18 months, renewable once, to allow entrepreneurs to rebuild their cash flow and make up for the loss not covered by exceptional aid. The loans can be awarded until December 2021.

It is aimed at associations and companies in the social and solidarity economy, including those in the Foundation’s two sectors of activity: the artistic and cultural sector, and the sustainable food sector.

If you wish to submit an application to France Active and are or have been supported by the Foundation, we invite you to contact > us beforehand Read more

We would like to salute all those who, through their project and their energy, have managed to carry out these inspiring solidarity actions in such a difficult context.

We would also like to thank our programme managers and their experts who have been mobilised to monitor the networks, examine the proposed projects and release aid quickly in the face of the emergency.

“We are living in an unprecedented moment, a “crisis” which, as so often, reveals the best in each of us. Solidarity and recognition are the watchwords of this worldwide movement: solidarity with the most vulnerable; recognition of all those who work to care for us, feed us, inform us, and keep alive these everyday services, which are often invisible, but whose importance is now coming to light. The Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation wanted to play its part as a hummingbird in this great conflagration, but it can only do so because there are men and women working in the field to support the most vulnerable among us. To them too, we say “Thank you!

Marie-Stéphane Maradeix, General Delegate of the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation