In a district of Annecy (Haute-Savoie), a new small blue food-truck has been serving meals to locals and tourists since June. Nothing very original, except that it is located within the walls of an Ehpad and that it is partly managed by its residents. "I live again, I feel useful again!" enthuses Marie-France, 87, a former mechanic, who runs the cash register of the food truck several afternoons a week with her friend Suzanne, 80.
Sitting on a small table in the shade of a parasol, with cash register and bank terminal, they collect payment for meals ordered and take the opportunity to chat with customers. For Suzanne, very talkative, "it allows you to chat, to get to know people who now come to visit me in my apartment. It is a very rewarding initiative. It reconnects us to the outside world. »
"And besides, it's good!"
David Ferreira, the hotel and restaurant manager at the Ehpad du Parmelan, came up with the idea for this original food truck: "We first thought of it as a way to compensate for the lack of a restaurant in the area. It allows families who come to see a parent to eat an ice cream, to spend a friendly moment in the park of the Ehpad. But this food truck is also open to everyone. It brings life to the establishment, we brew people, and all generations. »
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At lunchtime, the meal at 15 euros is identical to that served at the restaurant of the Ehpad, and it can be taken in the same room as the residents. "It's very convenient, it reconnects with the elders, and in addition it's good," greets a local worker, who came to take his lunch snack.
"This week, we had a table of 18 people from the county council, located right next door. It brings a whole different atmosphere and other discussions," smiles David Ferreira. Since June, 1,500 meals and as many ice creams have been sold. As a bonus, the income from the food truck will be used to finance a future protected unit for residents with Alzheimer's type diseases.