HUMANITARIAN OPERATION LEBANON

Responding to the global food crisis

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people were already suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Today, the World Food Program estimates that as many as 783 million people are unsure of where their next meal is coming from.

 

The CMA CGM Foundation has been responding to this global food crisis by partnering with prominent food security NGOs and food banks all around the world.

Our partnerships in France

Today, nearly 10% of the French population is dependent on food aid. Vulnerable populations are still forced to go without essential goods and products.

The Foundation decided to respond to this challenge by providing access to healthy food for people in need. It does so primarily by supporting France’s leading food aid organizations, namely Restos du Cœur, Banques Alimentaires, Secours Populaire, and Secours Catholique.

In 2022 and 2023, the partnership with Restos du Coeur enabled the distribution of 2 million meals in mainland France. Alongside these handouts, 100 CMA CGM staff members helped Restos du Cœur volunteers in the 2023 National Collection drive. They worked in supermarkets as volunteers for the day, assisting the collection of products, before going to Restos du Cœur warehouses in Marseille to sort out donations.   

The partnership with Banques Alimentaires enabled the distribution of over 1 million meals, most of them in French overseas territories, mainly in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion Island. Through its Containers of Hope program, the Foundation also provided Banques Alimentaires with refrigerated containers to transport frozen products to island locations at no cost. It also donated containers to increase the storage and distribution capabilities of the overseas territories’ food banks. More than 200 CMA CGM staff members also take part in their annual collections organized in supermarkets and their warehouses every November and March. These are essential moments of solidarity shared with their volunteers.  

In 2022 and 2023, the Foundation's support also enabled Secours Populaire to expand its activities in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, including the “Green Santas” (“Pères Noël Verts”) campaign, which was able to distribute thousands of additional food parcels in the Marseille area to help families in need celebrate the festive season.

In 2023, the Foundation also supported the Secours Populaire in the purchase of two electric trucks and one "Solidar'Bus." The Solidar’Bus is a modified truck equipped with a reception area and storage space, which visits locations to assist young people.  

In 2023, the Foundation also provided critical support to Secours Catholique for the operation of its 12 food distribution sites in the diocese of Marseille. This support facilitates the provision of quality food while encouraging short supply chains and active participation by beneficiaries.

The Foundation also provides the abovementioned partners with logistical support to help them rethink and optimize their logistics (particularly warehousing and road transport), drawing on the expertise of CEVA Logistics, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group. 

Our partnerships in Lebanon

The unprecedented economic crisis is pushing thousands more Lebanese into extreme poverty and preventing them from putting food on the table. This is why the Foundation is stepping up its efforts to combat food insecurity in Lebanon. 

Since 2023, the CMA CGM Foundation has been involved in a privileged partnership with Mariam's Kitchen:

  • Construction and equipment of “Mariam’s Kitchen”, a solidarity kitchen located in the underprivileged Quarantaine district of Beirut
  • Preparation and distribution of 1,000 to 3,000 hot meals per day, based on the principle of unconditional aid
  • Creation of a “Mariam’s Kitchen mobile truck” capable of preparing 1,000 hot meals to respond to urgent needs in Lebanon

The CMA CGM Foundation also contributes to humanitarian efforts through solidarity actions:

  • 15,000 food parcels and 13,000 blankets distributed during the winter with 30 local associations across Lebanon;
  • 15,000 food parcels distributed through an unprecedented partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Lebanese Red Cross;
  • 60 tons of milk for vulnerable children under the age of 3, distributed by partners through four emergency operations between 2021 and 2023. 

Our partnerships in the rest of the world

Since 2012, through Containers of Hope, the Foundation offers free shipping services to its humanitarian partners, carrying equipment that is vital to alleviate crises brought on by natural catastrophes, conflicts, famines, epidemics, and population displacement.

One of the main cargos transported by the Foundation for its humanitarian partners is Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), that is specially designed to treat or prevent severe acute malnutrition, particularly in vulnerable populations like children.  

In 2022, in the face of growing nutritional needs, the Foundation decided to expand its support to its longstanding Containers of Hope partners: UNICEF in Somalia, Doctors Without Borders in Nigeria, and Action Against Hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  

It notably contributed to the development of their feeding programs by purchasing 8 million servings of RUTF, which were distributed to nutritional centers for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. 

In 2023, the Foundation continued its annual "Giving Across North America" campaign, dedicated to S In the United States, the Foundation partnered with the Salvation Army and, in Canada, with Sun Youth Organization and Moisson Montréal.

Supported by CEVA Logistics and over 250 CMA CGM staff volunteers, the Foundation successfully delivered a total of 5,500 turkeys, 15,130 bags of food staples, and 350 hot meals, ensuring that over 133,000 warm and nourishing holiday meals reached people facing hunger and food insecurity in Montréal, Los Angeles, New York City, and Norfolk.

In 2024, the CMA CGM Foundation and Rotary Egypt – District 2451 partnered to distribute 1,300 food parcels reaching 6,500 people in underprivileged areas of Cairo and Alexandria. As part of this initiative, over 60 CMA CGM staff members and Rotary Club volunteers were mobilized to pack and distribute the essential food aid. CCIS, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, also took charge of delivering the packages to the distribution points and ensuring that they reached those in need.