A story of solidarity towards the least, but above all towards the penultimate, who are the new poor. Here's what's behind the Ruben restaurant, where the meal costs 1 euro
In the neighborhood Giambellino-Lorenteggio of Milan there is a restaurant where an entire meal costs 1 euro. It is Ruben, born from an idea of the Ernesto Pellegrini Foundation, with the aim of helping the "new poor", that is, people from a normal working context who suddenly find themselves in a difficult situation. But Ruben is not a random name: it is the name of a person strongly linked to the history of the Pilgrims, without whom most likely today they would not have become what they are.
Who was Ruben?
Ernesto Pellegrini was born from a family of farmers and gardeners, in an ancient farmhouse in the Linate area. «An extraordinary man named Ruben lived and worked in this farmhouse on the outskirts of Milan, always serene and cheerful, who never got involved in the discussions and quarrels, so frequent in the farmhouses. It gave everyone of you, but to me it gave her a little embarrassment. When not working he read history books; then he questioned the boys and if someone did not know how to answer, he addressed him with a "ti te se gnurant". On Sunday, at the tavern, Ruben celebrated his weekly ritual by eating a whole roasted chicken washed down with a bottle of good wine. In the early 1960s, when the land was expropriated, the farmhouse was demolished and Ruben, lost his job, was forced to settle in a shack without heating. I, who was only twenty years old at the time and had little financial resources, was unable to help him, until one day I learned from the newspaper that he had died of frostbite. " From that moment Ernesto promised himself that once he was able to do it, he would help people in difficulty, especially those who, like Ruben, unexpectedly found themselves in a serious state of fragility. "Today, as then, the difficulties do not spare anyone, and Ruben's story teaches us that courage and commitment are needed to face them, but also the solidarity and help that he sadly lacked. Because if each of us tightens a little, there is room for everyone at the table. And not only to eat, but to speak and, why not ?, laugh, love each other and find the courage to leave again
The Pellegrini family
So, in 1965 Ernesto founded thePilgrims Canteen Organization. Over the years it has grown considerably, with an increase in customers and services, becoming the first company in the sector with Italian capital spread throughout the national territory, and beyond. This success is given by the quality of their work, typical of an entrepreneurial company, one of the few in the sector, with a particular focus on people, the human element and in general on the quality of interpersonal relationships; which is not surprising if you know the origin of its history. Not least is the care in the selection of food: Mediterranean fish, organic meats, gluten free proposals, vegetarian menus and so on. For this reason it has also started to collaborate with schools and universities, with interesting projects to promote food culture. The Ernesto Pellegrino ONLUS Foundation was born in 2013, with the aim of increasing social commitment, helping people in conditions of temporary economic difficulty. And in 2015, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the Foundation felt the strong need to do something for its city, in particular for the neighborhood where they are based, Giambellino-Lorenteggio: the Ruben solidarity restaurant was born.
Ruben's birth
Ruben turns to those who the Doctor Valentina Pellegrini, Ernesto's daughter and Vice President of the Company, she calls "the new poor", that is, to those who suddenly find themselves in a difficult situation, perhaps following a divorce, the birth of a son or the loss of work. For this reason «they are not used to asking for help, on the contrary, they often feel a great embarrassment because they are not part of the group of individuals belonging to the serious marginalization, the last ones, who live in public assistance, but more like Ruben, who was not a homeless but a hard worker who suddenly loses everything due to external causes . In addition, the solidarity restaurant Ruben was born inside a structure that also operates as an inter-company canteen, therefore similar to the canteen that the clients attended before losing their job. This contributed to create that sense of continuity sought by the Pilgrims, that is, that Ruben was perceived as much as possible as a "normal", habitual place. Hence the idea of doing pay an account, albeit one euro (children under 16 do not pay): that euro that allows much more, like the feeling of still feel part of something. For the same reason there is no rush: never too many people are accepted together, but there are two shifts, so that you have all the time you need to be able to share the meal calmly, just like at home with your family. Thus Ruben became also and above all a place of conviviality and socialization, where people meet, chat, compare, laugh, cry, as Christian Uccellatore, the project manager tells us. Finally, unlike other canteens, Ruben tries to find them a job, to put them in a working network, so that this is as much as possible a temporary situation: «work is the only way to get out of the crisis and to re-enter in a society to which they rightly still feel they belong. "
What do you eat?
Everyone can choose from the various buffet proposals, just like in a restaurant. The cuisine is that of the Italian tradition, prepared by professional cooks and served by Pellegrini staff. There is a careful selection of raw materials and each menu is submitted to a team of dieticians, in order to be able to give a complete and balanced meal, for example without any fried. The absolute must of the company is not to give waste, leftovers, products close to the deadline or coming from the surplus recovery circuits, for do not feed the poor-waste equivalence. As Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of the Pellegrini Foundation says: "The waste underlines the waste, instead we try to produce directly less, to invite to take the right doses, with an education to use and not to abuse, so as to do not generate waste .
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