Supermarket-free February, support for bringing back local food, sustainable canteens, citizens’ cooperatives… There are many initiatives springing up to promote consumption that is more responsible, better for the environment and healthier. This is all in the interests not only of our wellbeing and that of future generations, but of the planet too.

Are you looking to do your bit and shop “locally” in the Charleroi Metropolitan Area? Would you prefer to buy from a shop? A farm? Online?  We checked out the options for you…

At the shops

If, when you’re planning the week’s meals before doing the big online shop, you always manage to forget the cream, that all-important spice, the cheese for grating over the top… If you’re the kind of person who starts wondering what to make for dinner around 6pm… Planning ahead just isn’t your cup of tea! This means that the lure of the supermarket and its overpackaged products, with produce of far-flung or dubious origin, is strong. But luckily there are more local and responsible alternatives!

Consider, for example, Coopeco, a cooperative aiming to offer high-quality food for all at accessible prices, with an approach that respects the environment and human beings alike. The shop operates thanks to the active participation of its members, with everyone doing their bit to keep it up and running depending on the various skills they have to offer.

Biocap in Marcinelle stocks a full range of local and seasonal produce. The brand, which has 5 shops in Belgium, describes itself as “an enormous space entirely dedicated to an ecological vision of our consumption patterns, which stocks everything you need day to day, from food to cosmetics, and cleaning products too”.

Do you live in the southern part of the Metropolitan Area? Pop into Tournesol in Chimay, an organic shop that has gone from strength to strength since opening 20 years ago, which now stocks over 300 brands in its 350 m² space. You might also find what you are looking for at Nature Nature in Philippeville which, in addition to a wide range of products spread over 3 floors, offers a range of training seminars and workshops.

Do you reside in the northern part of the Metropolitan Area? If so, Tom@home in Ransart will keep you stocked up with products made exclusively in Belgium. If you prefer, they can even deliver to your home. Be sure also to check out Comptoir du Bio in Courcelles. There you will find a full range of food, toiletries and cleaning products, the majority of which are sold in bulk. Within the last few days, Comptoir du Bio has also started selling fruit and vegetable boxes. In Fleurus, you might consider Marché bio, which has an attractive range of local products, grown exclusively from organic farming (read our article on the subject), or Pau en vrac, a grocers selling local products, in bulk too, where a beaming Pauline will be only too happy to welcome you!

Wherever you happen to be in the Metropolitan Area, take a look at the ‘local products’ shelves which seem to be growing rapidly in certain supermarkets…

Directly from the producer

Some producers have set up shops right from their farms. It’s hard to find a shorter distance between farm and fork!

Find them thanks to our interactive map.

By ordering online

A dab hand with the “click & collect”? Is shopping from the comfort of your sofa once the children are in bed more your style? Vegetables from one, meat from another, dairy products from yet another, spending Saturday morning running around from one to the next doesn’t really work for you?

Well, handily, here are some cooperatives and organisations that will help to make life easier!

How it works: order on the website of your choice, pick up your fresh and local products from a collection point! It couldn’t be easier… Meat, fruit and vegetables, dairy products, bread and pastries, store cupboard items, cleaning products…: the ranges typically come very well-stocked.

La Botte Paysanne sells products from the area around Sivry-Rance and Chimay. The farm counter is open on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings where you can pick up your orders of bread, meat and dairy produce or buy from the producers directly.

The CoopESEM cooperative, set up in 2017, is mainly active in the municipalities of Gerpinnes, Walcourt, Cerfontaine, Couvin, Philippeville, Viroinval, Ham-sur-Heure-Nalinnes, Mettet, Doische and Florennes. Place your order before Wednesday evening and pick up your goods on Friday from one of 4 collection points.

Choose your Commun’Halle, in Ham-sur-Heure-Nalinnes, Montignies-sur-Sambre, Montigny-le-Tilleul, Mont-sur-Marchienne or Tarcienne, place your order and then pick up your goods within the selected timeslot, directly from the producers…

The “Ruche qui dit oui” at Tarcienne, Charleroi, Aiseau-Presles, Pont-à-Celles, Seneffe or Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont welcomes you with the same principles!

Eats Local, the new kid on the block in the Charleroi Metropolitan Area, allows you not only to do your shopping “locally” and just in a short series of clicks, but also to have them delivered to your home (on Fridays) for only 3 euros! If your order comes to 65€ or more, delivery comes free. The municipalities where they currently deliver within the Metropolitan Area are Charleroi, Montigny-le-Tilleul, Ham-sur-Heure-Nalinnes, Courcelles, Châtelet, Les Bons Villers, Fleurus, Pont-à-Celles, Farciennes, Aiseau-Presles and Gerpinnes.

As you have gathered by now, there are so many ways of filling your fridge responsibly around the Charleroi Metropolitan Area! Which method of shopping local is the best fit for you? Try a couple of them out, you’re sure to love them!

If you know of any other ways of buying local products in the Charleroi Metropolitan Area, feel free to send their details to us and we will gladly add them to this article!(info@charleroi-metropole.be)