For the right to healthy, local and quality food

On Friday, July 3rd, the Périgord-Limousin Intercommunal Social Action Center (CIAS) launched the "Flavors Vouchers," an innovative initiative developed as part of its efforts to combat food insecurity. Committed to promoting local and high-quality food, the Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park is supporting the CIAS in this project, within the framework of its Territorial Food Project.

Towards a Local Food Project for the Périgord-Limousin Community of Municipalities

For several years, the CIAS has been running a food voucher program to support people in difficulty. Following a diagnostic work Conducted in partnership with Udccas24* in 2024, the CIAS developed a project to reduce food insecurity in the region by guaranteeing everyone dignified access to healthy, local, and high-quality food. Various partners are involved in this project, including the Regional Natural Park.

The diagnostic work revealed that food vouchers had previously been used in supermarkets and hypermarkets for... agri-food products are often highly processedFurthermore, he noted a a rich but dispersed ecosystem of food aid actors, and therefore a real need for networking. Several actions were then devised to address these issues, with the support of the "Better Eating for All" fund, managed by the Regional Directorate of Economy, Employment, Labour and Solidarity (DREETS).  

Implementation of the "Flavours Vouchers"

The first part of the project was the introduction of new food vouchers called "Flavors Vouchers." These are still issued by social workers in the area, but they can be 50% more if beneficiaries use them with producers and farmers' markets partners. This is a financial incentive to promote the use of local, seasonal and especially homemade food, which is not necessarily more expensive. 

The producers and partner stores are listed in a document called " Flavor Directory This document was produced in partnership with AgroBio Périgord and the Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park. The listed producers volunteered following an initial consultation, but this document can be expanded if other agricultural businesses wish to participate in the program.

Towards a Flavors Agenda

The CIAS territory is fortunate to have many structures committed to supporting people in difficulty: professional reintegration, food aid, family spaces… These structures offer in particular actions around food and the discovery of the territory. These initiatives deserve to be valued and expanded upon. by those of other partners such as the Regional Natural Park. A new tool called "Agenda of Flavors" will soon list all the activities offered by partners related to food: cooking workshops, farm visits, markets…

Other experiments are planned as part of the CIAS Périgord Limousin project, such as the implementation of community fridges or cultural events.

Whether through the "Flavors Vouchers," the "Flavors Agenda," or community fridges, the CIAS's objective is to promote accessible, more sustainable, and socially responsible food by involving all stakeholders in the region. This is an approach that the Park supports and to which it actively contributes.

_{* Departmental Union of Municipal and Intermunicipal Social Action Centers of Dordogne}