Turning containers into a Social Mini-Market: an innovative initiative for students at the Saint-Charles campus of Aix-Marseille University in Marseille

The Social Mini-Market on the Saint-Charles campus, located in Marseille’s 3rd district, opened this Tuesday, December 9. It will be managed by the Aix-Marseille Interasso Federation (FAMI).

As one in three students reports skipping meals for financial reasons, this project reflects the shared commitment of Aix-Marseille University and the CMA CGM Foundation to foster student well-being, academic success, and equal opportunities for all.

To design and equip the Social Mini-Market, the CMA CGM Foundation mobilized the industrial and logistical expertise of the CMA CGM Group. Four 40-foot shipping containers were fully converted into a 120 m² space comprising a retail area, a storage room, and a welcoming space dedicated to providing social support to students. The provision, transformation, and delivery of the facility were fully funded by the CMA CGM Foundation.

The mini-market will offer food products at prices 90% below market rates, as well as hygiene and household items at prices 70% below market rates. Its daily supply will be financed primarily through public funds, supplemented by private contributions and donations from partners. To support the opening of the Saint-Charles Campus Mini-Market, the CMA CGM Foundation is also donating over 15,000 essential products to FAMI.

The Social Mini-Market will foster student interaction, provide meeting spaces for student associations, and host activities led by Student Life Services, including support with access to rights, cooking workshops, and budgeting guidance. Extended opening hours will ensure that as many students as possible can benefit from the space.

Winner of the call for projects launched in July 2025 by Aix-Marseille University and drawing on its experience with AGORAé student mini-market, FAMI will operate the Social Mini-Market on the Saint-Charles campus. FAMI ensures an approach created by students, for students.

« The opening of this social mini-market illustrates our core belief: a university must be a place of academic excellence, but also a space for solidarity and mutual support. Together with the CMA CGM Foundation, to whom I extend my sincere gratitude, and our student associations, we are taking concrete action to ensure that precariousness never becomes an obstacle to the success and well-being of our students.” Éric BERTON, President of Aix Marseille University.

« We searched the best way to act alongside the University and student associations so that no student has to choose between a meal and academic success. The CMA CGM Foundation mobilized the expertise of the CMA CGM Group to design a social innovation using four shipping containers. The Social Mini-Market combines welcoming spaces with a retail area offering essential products at affordable prices. I hope this space will become a familiar, useful, and welcoming place for students. They are the future, and it is our responsibility to support them. Through this initiative, the CMA CGM Foundation continues its efforts to promote access to education and address food insecurity.” Tanya SAADE ZEENNY, President of the CMA CGM Foundation

« In 2025, it is unacceptable for students to have to choose between eating and studying. This hardship directly undermines academic success as well as the daily lives of students. FAMI will continue its efforts to improve student living conditions and to carry out projects for students, by students, and with students.” Lucie DOSSETTI, President of the Federation Aix-Marseille Interasso (FAMI)

AMU supports the project by providing dedicated spaces, mobilizing administrative and technical teams, and offering financial support to student associations for the supply of food and essential products. The university now has five Social Mini-Market across its campus, four of which are managed by FAMI: Aix-en-Provence, Saint-Charles, Luminy, Étoile, and Timone.

This opening takes place in the context of rising student precarity, as confirmed by surveys from the University’s Student Life Observatory. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, AMU has expanded its support for food aid by collaborating with student associations and funding projects through the Student Initiatives Solidarity and Development Fund (FSDIE).

Founded in 2005, the CMA CGM Foundation is committed to humanitarian aid and access to education. It supports major associations working in the field of food assistance, such as Restos du Cœur, Banques Alimentaires, Secours Populaire, Secours Catholique, Cop1 Solidarité Étudiante, and Andès. In France, this amounts to nearly 15 million meals distributed each year to people in need.

By mobilising the logistics expertise of the CMA CGM Group, the Foundation develops social innovations, including:

• The Solidarity Warehouse: a shared 5,000 m² platform located in the heart of Marseille, enabling five major food-aid organisations to distribute more than 10 million meals each year in the Bouches-du-Rhône.
• The PharmaBox: a container converted into a mobile pharmacy. Compact, secure, and rapidly deployable, this unit enables NGOs to transport, store, and distribute medicines under appropriate conditions, including in humanitarian crisis zones.