One Year of the CMA CGM Foundation's Solidarity Warehouse: 10 Million Meals Distributed in 2025 from France's Largest Shared Platform

Since its inauguration on December 10, 2024, in the presence of Mrs. Brigitte Macron and artist Soprano, the CMA CGM Foundation’s Solidarity Warehouse, located in the heart of Marseille, has doubled the food distribution capacity of the associations. 

Faced with aging infrastructure, inadequate facilities, and steadily increasing needs, food assistance organizations were constrained by significant structural limitations, including unsuitable premises, logistical inefficiencies leading to losses, and difficulties in securing and managing supply flows.

The Solidarity Warehouse offers a practical and tailored response to these challenges by providing a modern, secure, and appropriately scaled facility, specifically designed to meet the operational realities of food assistance.

This innovative model is built on a close partnership framework bringing together five major associations, public authorities (the State, the Region, and the City), and shared financing mechanisms, enabling a sustainable expansion of services for the most vulnerable populations.

One year after its launch, the Solidarity Warehouse has clearly demonstrated that the pooling of logistics resources and enhanced operational efficiency are decisive levers for strengthening food assistance efforts.

For Tanya Saadé Zeenny, President of the CMA CGM Foundation: "Thanks to the commitment of associations, our logistics expertise, and the support of public authorities, tangible results have been achieved. Building on this momentum, we will deploy new Solidarity Warehouses across France starting next year, with the objective of fundamentally transforming the logistics of food assistance."

Designed as a genuine logistics tool serving the public interest, the Solidarity Warehouse in Marseille enables partner associations—Restos du Cœur, Red Cross, Secours Populaire, Secours Catholique, and Andes—to pool their resources, optimize food supply flows, and strengthen their operational capacity on the ground.

Designed to offer optimal storage and working conditions for both products and volunteers, while fostering complementarity among the associations, the facility has doubled their logistics capacity. Storage capacity increased from 1,600 to 3,300 pallets, and cold storage areas for fruits and vegetables were expanded from 180 to 360 m², for a total storage surface to 5,000 m².

Thanks to the logistics expertise provided by the CMA CGM Foundation, associations are able to devote more of their resources to supporting beneficiaries. As a result, nearly 8,000 tonnes of food products have been distributed through the Solidarity Warehouse within its first year of operation.

The platform also plays a key role in reducing food waste. By facilitating the collection, sorting, and redistribution of products from donations or unsold goods, the Solidarity Warehouse contributes to more responsible resource management while addressing social urgency.

For Yann Auger, General Director of ANDES: "The Solidarity Warehouse allows us to strengthen our logistics capacity, serving the solidarity food pantries in the department and region. It is an exemplary project of cooperation between food assistance actors, with the valuable support of the CMA CGM Foundation."

For Stéphane Lemonnier, President of the Red Cross Local Unit in Marseille: "One year after its launch, the Solidarity Warehouse has become a genuine tool for our action. Its strategic location allows us to be more responsive and efficient, and it now hosts the headquarters of our local unit, further strengthening our ability to serve beneficiaries." 

Beyond its purely logistical function, the Solidarity Warehouse is designed as a hub for cooperation among partner associations. It hosts training sessions, coordination meetings, and best-practice exchanges, fostering the professionalization of volunteers and strengthening complementarity among organizations engaged in the fight against food insecurity.

Over the course of one year, more than thirty association staff members and volunteers have been trained in logistics practices, thanks to the ongoing support of a dedicated logistics coordinator from CEVA Logistics, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group.

At the same time, several hundred CMA CGM Group employees took part this year in collection drives organized by partner associations. In 2026, a structured skills-based volunteering program will be rolled out, enabling thirty CMA CGM Group employees to provide ongoing support to associations throughout the year. 

Building on the positive results achieved in Marseille and in light of the growing needs of food assistance beneficiaries, the Solidarity Warehouse model is set to be deployed from next year in other territories across mainland France and overseas.

The CMA CGM Foundation is working on developing new Solidarity Warehouses in Lyon, in the Nord department, in Mayotte, and in Guadeloupe, adapting to the specifics of each territory and in partnership with public and civil society actors.

Through this structural project, the CMA CGM Foundation strengthens its long-term commitment to solidarity and social innovation, putting the logistics expertise of the Group at the service of those who need it most.