Access to food, beverages and hygiene facilities

If you are in Paris and need to eat, you have several options: 

Meals distributed by volunteers

The Soliguide provides a list of all the meal distribution points in Paris: The site is available in Ukrainian, English and Russian. 

Other associations also provide access to meal distributions in Paris: France Terre d’Asile, La Chorba.

Distribution of food parcels

The Soliguide provides a list of all the food parcels distribution schemes available: The site is available in Ukrainian, English and Russian. 

Distribution of meal vouchers

Meal vouchers are prepaid cards or tickets that allow you to shop directly at partner retail outlets. They ensure a high level of discretion.  

To obtain meal vouchers you should contact the main French charities or the communal centres for social action (Centres Communaux de l’Action Social – CCAS): 

French Red Cross, Restos du Cœur, Secours Populaire, List of CCAS of Paris, Map of shops that accept meal vouchers. 

Charity grocery shops

There are many social and charity grocery shops in France that offer self-shopping at a nominal price. 

Here is a map of the main charity grocery shops in France.

You can also contact the communal centres for social action (CCAS) of the town in which you are located to find out about the various emergency food aid schemes available in the area. 

In any case, you can contact the main French charities: French Red Cross, Restos du Cœur, Secours Populaire and Secours Catholique.

These charities offer food parcels or meal distribution services. Sometimes you can also request meal vouchers (prepaid cards or tickets that allow you to shop directly at partner retail outlets). Map of retail outlets that accept meal vouchers. 

If you are in the following departments (Île-de-France, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Bas-Rhin, Bouches du Rhône, Cantal, Charente, Côte d’Or, Dordogne, Gironde, Haute Vienne, Hérault, Indre, Loire-Atlantique, Morbihan, Nord, Puy-de-Dôme, Seine Maritime) the Soliguide will provide you with the contact details of all the food aid services in the regions. The site is available in Ukrainian, English and Russian. 

In France, there are many charity grocery shops that offer self-shopping at a nominal price. See here for a map of the main charity grocery shops in France. 

France has a large network of drinking-water fountains throughout the country.

If you need to take a shower, you can contact your local city hall for more information on where to find a “bains douches” (see bains douches of Paris). Large charities also operate many day centres (accueil de jour) throughout the country. Some municipal swimming pools may also offer this service. 

Most of these day centres will also offer a laundry service. There is also a network of charity laundries across the country. Soliguide will enable you to identify them easily. 

Finally, the Toilet Finder app offers an up-to-date map of all public toilets in France. At a station, if the French Red Cross is present, you will be allowed access to the toilets free of charge.