La Madeleine (France), 11 July, 2024 – The Roquette Foundation for Health and the Decathlon Foundation are partnering to promote access to healthy food and adapted physical activity for people in vulnerable situations. In March of this year, the two entities launched a joint call for projects aimed at supporting actions in favor of sports and nutrition in France, Brazil, and India. With a jury for each country, five associations were selected, all of which had projects that met the criteria of the call for projects: the Marca institution in Brazil, the Shreeja association in India, the Apprentis d’Auteuil, Comme Les Autres, and Enfance, Adolescence et Diabète associations in France.

These projects will be supported by the two Foundations for a total of more than €160,000.

Sustainable projects in favor of “eat well, move more”

Nearly 100 applications were received following the launch of the call for projects in March 2024. Among them, five projects were selected for their ability to offer people in vulnerable situations (such as precariousness, disability, illness, and people from disadvantaged neighborhoods) access to physical and sports activities, as well as healthy food in the long term.

• The Playing & Nourishing project of the Marca Institution promotes food education through a school garden and fun activities, including access to sports for out-of-school children in the surroundings of Salvador, Brazil.
• The project proposed by the association Shreeja India, at the heart of the “Football and Beyond” program, integrates football and nutrition training, awareness, and support for mental health to empower disadvantaged girls living in rural areas in West Bengal, India.
• The Lubinus project, led by the Apprentis d’Auteuil, is implemented on the Saint-Lubin campus, a rural area in Tarn et Garonne (France), which welcomes 140 young people and adults each year for training in metal and building trades or for an insertion program. Sports and nutrition workshops are set up there every week.
• The association Comme Les Autres offers comprehensive social support, constantly energized by sports and extreme sensations, to enable a dynamic rebound towards a fulfilling social and professional life for people who have a motor disability following an accident. The Sport-Health approach will be implemented on all regional sites.
• The project implemented by the association EAD (Childhood, Adolescence & Diabetes) will be established in the first child diabetes house located in Toulouse, France, which is scheduled to open its doors in September 2024. The project will organize events and programs focused on nutrition, physical activity, and type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents. The aim is to gradually equip them with the necessary knowledge for proper diabetes management and acceptance of the disease.

The budget of more than €160,000 allocated to these five projects by the two foundations will be dedicated to the construction or renovation of sports facilities, personnel costs related to sports (sports educator for the implementation of the program’s roadmap), the purchase of food, and personnel costs related to healthier eating (dietician, nutritionist).

This initiative is part of Decathlon and Roquette’s desire to commit as major players in the field of sports health and nutrition. It is also an integral part of Roquette’s “life+nature” program and one of its engagement platforms “CARE for people,” which places humans at the heart of the company’s commitments and works for well-being, inclusion, and involvement with local communities. Furthermore, convinced that sports can truly change lives, this call for projects is perfectly aligned with Decathlon’s sense of purpose “Move people through the wonders of Sport.”

According to Anne Lambin, Head of the Roquette Foundation, “This call for projects is a real human adventure: we have discovered projects from all horizons, which show the importance of combining sports or adapted activities and balanced nutrition to preserve our health. It is also an opportunity for our two foundations and companies to work together, driven by our common values. This call for projects will contribute to making nutrition and sports the essential duo for better health!”

For Marie Pinel, Head of the Decathlon Foundation in France, “This collaboration with the Roquette Foundation was obvious. Combining our two areas of expertise, nutrition, and physical activity, two essential pillars of health, in service of associations committed to the well-being of their beneficiaries: a real opportunity! We received a welcome from the structures that met our expectations and are delighted and touched!”