https://nltimes.nl/2023/01/25/amsterdam-supermarket-offers-free-groceries-life-coach-struggling-families

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Fris supermarket in Amsterdam Nieuw-West
Fris supermarket in Amsterdam Nieuw-West - Credit: Stadsdeel
Nieuw-West Amsterdam / Facebook - License: All Rights Reserved
Business
Fris
supermarket
poverty
Amsterdam
Amsterdam Nieuw-West
Studiezalen
low-income household
Abdelhamid Idrissi
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Wednesday, 25 January 2023 - 12:17
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Amsterdam supermarket offers free groceries, life coach to struggling
families

A new, extra-special supermarket opened in Wildemanbuurt in Amsterdam
Nieuw-West on Tuesday. The Fris Supermarket offers free groceries for
vulnerable families, with the only condition that they also accept
the help of a life coach from Studiezalen, the foundation behind
Fris, Parool reports.

Fris, which translates to "fresh" in English, stands for the fresh
produce and the fresh start the supermarket hopes to help families
with. Everything starts with groceries, Studizalen founder Abdelhamid
Idrissi (33) said to the newspaper. "We want to take away that stress
every day. We'll get you a night's sleep. That's the beginning.
People need to live, not just survive."

Studiezalen, which started in 2010 as a few rooms for vulnerable kids
to do their homework in, funds the supermarket through crowdfunding
and donations from other local businesses, including Vomar, Bakkerij
Metalsa, fruit grower Jan Oskam, TommyTomato, and butchery Kaddour,
among many more. Fris' shelves are stocked with everything you'd find
in other supermarkets, from pasta to baby diapers, to bicycle locks.
But what they're actually stocked with is stories, Idrissi said to
the newspaper.

"Here are all kinds of stories. If we hear that children go to school
without breakfast, we provide breakfast. We see children in our study
rooms take toilet paper home, so we provide toilet paper. Or people
don't feel fresh and want to look presentable, for example, for a job
interview. So we provide toothbrushes, shampoo, and hair gel."

Fris is not a food bank, Idrissi stressed. "We don't need proof of
poverty, we see the poverty every day in our study rooms. We also
don't hand out packages twice a week, but people can come and shop
here themselves every day. That is based on trust. And we keep them
for guidance."

Studiezalen life coaches help people with many things, from looking
for a job or internship to signing up for the right benefits or
finding the right facilities. In one family, they help with a child
being bullied, and in another with addiction problems. The care is as
tailor-made as possible, Idrissi said.

Fris and Studiezalen are currently supporting 80 families in
Nieuw-West. "The demand is much higher, but whether we can help more
families depends on whether we can get more sponsorships," Idrissi
said.

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