Development and Revitalization of Local Communities

Initiatives as Members of Revitalization of Local Communities

Basic Approach

We believe that it is important for convenience stores, being a community member of a local community, to contribute to solving challenges and promote communication in cooperation with the residents and the community.

We will also work toward developing an environment in which children can grow up healthy as well as enhancing support for the elderly and building a circle of mutual support within the community by addressing “solitary dining”, a phenomenon affecting elderly people living alone and children of dual-income families.

Initiatives as Members of Revitalization of Local Communities

Famima Food Drive

Due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19, the number of people facing challenges in their everyday lives is increasing nationwide. The number of food pantry users has soared, which tells us that there are a lot of people in need of food support in Japan.

On the other hand, food waste that otherwise could still be eaten is as high as 1.3 billion tons per year worldwide. This amounts to one third of the entire world’s food production.

The continuing increase of food loss, despite the fact that there are many people in need of food support, is considered a major social issue internationally.

One way to resolve this situation is through food drives. This activity is an effort to facilitate the donation of food in households where it would be wasted to regional welfare organizations and institutions. FamilyMart started Famima Food Drive in April 2021, utilizing our stores and conducted in cooperation with local municipalities and NPOs.

During fiscal 2022, we collaborated with 330 organizations and carried out initiatives across 2,043 stores. The cumulative food collection amounted to 92.2 tons within the first two years of the program’s inception.

Famima Children’s Cafeteria

Famima Children’s Cafeteria is an initiative to support local community revitalization by providing places where participants can enjoy eating together and opportunities for local communication with local children and their guardians.

Some stores offer programs that combine fun dining with hands-on events, such as experiencing using a cash register and behind-the-scenes tours of the store.

We hope that the participants will use this initiative to connect with each other in their community, as they can not only interact with the store manager and staff of the neighboring stores through dining and events, but also the participants can communicate with one another.

We have been receiving feedback from the participants that they have enjoyed themselves and would definitely like to take part again. As such we have expanded the program to more stores.

As a new initiative in this world where COVID-19 is now a great concern, we have opened the Digital Famima Children’s Cafeteria program. With this program, children can participate online from home or other facilities.

Participants interacting with one another
Dining
Children experiencing the duties of FamilyMart employees

Perspectives

Children’s cafeterias have often been misunderstood as a place where children in need of a free meal can go. However, over 70% of children’s cafeterias are operated in a way that does not limit eligibility. With this fixed idea standing, the fact that FamilyMart, which is familiar to many people, has opened a children’s cafeteria in order to create connections in the community, has played a part in rectifying the image of children’s cafeterias.

With the population in suburbs decreasing and people’s connections becoming strained, COVID-19 made these challenges of depopulation and community connections even worse. Now that most of the population has been vaccinated, we are back on our feet to resume “creating a place to belong”. We expect that FamilyMart will lead to community development where one can feel strong connections among people.

In order to contribute to the revitalization of communities and the facilitation of communication and solving social challenges through the use of children’s cafeterias, we asked FamilyMart to add us, the National Children’s Cafeteria Support Center Musubie to the FamilyMart Connecting Dreams Foundation Donation in February 2021. We will consider ways to utilize the good will we have received through FamilyMart so that we can achieve the shared goals of children’s cafeterias and FamilyMart, feeling the connection of a family with others under our philosophy of “FamilyMart, Where You Are One of the Family”. We believe that FamilyMart’s initiative on community revitalization goes beyond the individuality of 17 SDG goals and manifests the fundamental principles and spirit of the SDGs.
Chairperson Makoto Yuasa, National Children’s Cafeteria Support Center Musubie (Authorized NPO)

Responding to an Aging Society

Famima Circle Activities

Famima Circle is a community exchange initiative that makes use of in-store eating spaces by cooperating in problem-solving for the elderly. Elderly customers can create connections, and police and local governments provide workshops on matters such as avoiding bank-transfer frauds, voluntarily giving up one’s driver’s license, and preventing senior frailty (physical and mental). Attendees can get to know each other as well as the store manager and staff, exchanging opinions and deepening community ties.

Given the spread of COVID-19 since 2020, these salons and in-store gatherings where seniors gather have been held online as “Digital Famima Circle”.

Going forward, stores will continue to serve as a base in their specific communities for providing useful information and promoting exchange among residents.
A police officer speaking at Famima Circle

Utilization of Senior Staff

We have been seeing society aging, and FamilyMart is working on utilizing the knowledge, skills, and will to work of senior citizens. At our stores, while considering the current employment situation, we proactively recruit healthy and energetic senior citizens so that they can put to use the wisdom and experience they cultivated by living in the area over the years, allowing them to continue working. The network senior citizens have with the local community creates a strong relationship of trust between the store and customers as well as helps the store to connect with a strong bond to the entire community through communication.
Senior staff working enthusiastically

Dementia Supporters

As the population ages, more people are living with dementia. Hence, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, in collaboration with local governments, is actively engaged in training “Dementia Supporters” to foster an accurate understanding of dementia and offer assistance to patients in need.

We encourage store managers, store staff, and corporate employees to participate in dementia support training held by local municipalities as well as regularly hold training in order to support patients and their families with a thorough knowledge and understanding of dementia and apply this stance in store operations.

As of fiscal 2022, we have 4,182 employees certified as Dementia Support Persons.

We will continue to hold dementia support training courses to increase the number of those who have obtained the certification, while deepening cooperation with local governments to contribute to the creation of a community where people can live with peace of mind.
Dementia Support training course participants in Nagano Prefecture

Creating a Safe and Secure Community

Safety Station activities

Safety Station activities help keep neighborhoods safe, and as a member of the Japan Franchise Association (JFA), FamilyMart has participated since 2000.

Originally started in response to an appeal from the National Police Agency, the program brings together national and municipal organizations and community members to prevent crime, be prepared for disasters, and ensure safety and security routinely. Stores are a safe place for wandering senior citizens with dementia or women and children in need, and they prohibit sales of cigarettes and alcohol to minors and encourage late-night visitors to return home.

In 2022, a total of 339 stores (all stores in 47 prefectures) received commendations from JFA for preventing certain types of fraud, among other efforts.

Among the stores awarded by JFA, FamilyMart presents an appreciation letter under the president’s name to store managers and staff who have provided great performance that can be an example to other stores.

Stores will continue to work closely with communities to serve as safe and secure neighborhood hubs.

A poster to display that the store

participates in the Safety Station activities

The Japan Franchise Association (JFA)’s SS (Safety Station) Square homepage

Response status in 2022

Women seeking shelter	1,262 stores	1,759 times or more
Children seeking shelter	790 stores	1,133 times or more
Aid provided to the elderly	2,674 stores	4,949 times or more
Deterring communications fraud (bank transfer frauds, etc.)	4,492 stores
Encouraging juveniles to go home late at night	3,942 stores

◆Main examples of Safety Station activities

・A customer’s actions or words felt suspicious, so I asked what was wrong and ended up protecting them from a communications fraud.

・I temporarily helped a woman who was troubled by a stalker.

・I aided or reported to the police a child or lost child who came in to call for help.

・I aided or reported (or contacted their family) an elderly person that looked like they had dementia or felt ill.

・I responded appropriately (directed traffic, helped rescue, reported to the police, etc.) to an accident (traffic accident, fire, etc.) that happened near the store.

Prevention of sales of alcohol or tobacco to those who are younger than 20 years old

FamilyMart promotes the initiative to prevent the sale of alcohol or tobacco to those who are younger than 20 years old. In July 2017, we changed the cashier program to display a message to both the store staff and customer along with a voiced guidance when alcohol or tobacco is scanned at the cashier. This reminds the store staff and has made it easy for them to check the customer’s age.

When we hire store staff, they are trained on how to check customers’ age before they begin working. All staff members in every store also take a class on alcohol and tobacco sales twice a year.

In addition, store managers and supervisors ensure class completion and make sure that displays appropriately comply with the law. They also ensure that POP displays as well as posters stating that the store checks customers’ age to prevent alcohol and tobacco purchases for people under 20 years old are appropriately placed.