Red Cross Flanders has received a donation of 1,000 individual basic food packs from Colruyt. Since the end of March, Colruyt has been selling basic emergency food packs enabling people to remain self-sufficient for 24 hours. These packs now form an immediately deployable part of the emergency stock that Red Cross Flanders has been rapidly expanding in recent years as part of its increased focus on disaster preparedness.
“Disaster preparedness does not only mean that individual citizens should think about preparing for possible emergency situations; organisations such as the Red Cross must do the same,” says Lien Vermeire from Red Cross Flanders. “We have been strengthening our emergency stock for some time now. The basic food packs donated by Colruyt will therefore be extremely useful.”
Emergency stock for large-scale incidents
In recent years, Red Cross Flanders has invested heavily in disaster preparedness. In the organisation’s five-year strategy, disaster preparedness is one of the key priorities. An essential part of this is the continued development of a structural emergency stock intended for situations in which large groups of people need to be accommodated simultaneously.
This may be necessary following evacuations after a serious incident or during large-scale disruptions where people are temporarily unable to remain in their homes. “When hundreds of people need to be evacuated at the same time, the situation quickly becomes logistically complex,” explains Lien Vermeire. “You must then be able to guarantee basic necessities such as sleeping facilities, hygiene kits, logistical support and, of course, food.”
Flooding or cold spells
In situations involving large-scale shelter operations, we would normally also provide collective catering, such as large-scale kitchen facilities. However, in an emergency, this may not always be immediately possible or easy to organise.
“In that context, individual basic food packs such as those provided by Colruyt are a valuable addition,” says Lien Vermeire. “They allow us to act quickly and provide temporary support without requiring overly complex logistics. Think, for example, of distributing packs in a neighbourhood isolated by flooding, or providing support to vulnerable families and homeless people during a cold spell. In such moments, it is all hands on deck, and these packs are extremely valuable.”
24 hours of self-sufficiency, including hot meals
Geert Elen of Colruyt Group explains: “Since the end of March, Colruyt has been selling basic food packs in response to requests from both customers and the government to be able to remain autonomous for several days in exceptional situations. Many customers have already found their way to these packs, and today we want to take things one step further.”
Colruyt’s basic food pack contains breakfast, two ready-to-heat meals, three energy bars, cashew nuts, isotonic drink powder, three coffee sticks, six chewing gums, tissues, a spoon and a flameless cooker for heating meals.
“With this pack, people can remain self-sufficient for at least 24 hours and enjoy hot meals without needing a kitchen or electricity,” says Geert Elen. “This means the packs perfectly match the needs of Red Cross Flanders. That is why we decided to donate 1,000 packs so they can be deployed wherever they are needed.”
Emergency stock under development
Building a comprehensive emergency stock takes time, but above all substantial resources. “We are currently still looking for €500,000 to continue expanding our emergency stock,” the organisation explains. Anyone wishing to support Red Cross Flanders financially in building up a comprehensive emergency stock can make a donation to account number BE28 0960 0000 9620 with the reference ‘noodstock’.
