In Luxembourg, meals at the Stëmm vun der Strooss are still available for 50 cents. What is changing is the distribution of tokens by other providers to cover the cost. This distinction is essential to understanding the difficulties being reported and knowing which service to contact.
In a report published by RTL on 14 November, Monica Camposeo explains that the Red Cross Social Bistro has stopped distributing these tokens. Asked by the media outlet, alderwoman Corinne Cahen confirms this instruction for the Bistro, while denying that there is a general ban applying to all associations. She says that street workers operating under an agreement with the City must distribute them according to need.
Stëmm director Alexandra Oxacelay tells RTL that her association has not changed its rules: tokens can still be bought for 50 cents. The report also describes the difficulties faced by people who no longer receive them. Keeping the price unchanged therefore does not, by itself, resolve the question of access for those who cannot afford to pay.
The restaurant and the token distributor have different roles
A social restaurant prepares and serves a meal. An organisation that provides a token can enable someone to have the meal without paying for it upfront. The operation of the first service and the conditions under which the second intervenes must be distinguished: a change in distribution can affect access without the restaurant closing or raising its price.
This distinction also helps people ask the right question. Is the need to find a meal today, to find out a venue’s opening times, or to get support with a lasting difficulty? The services can complement one another, but information about opening times is no substitute for an answer about covering the cost.
Practical information for Hollerich remains available
The official Stëmm social restaurant page, checked on 14 November, lists a meal at 0.50 euro and a drink at 0.25 euro. The Hollerich site is at 7, rue de la Fonderie. The page states that the venue is open to the public and hot meals are served from 11:30 to 15:30, Monday to Friday.
The restaurant also opens on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, from 11:30 to 13:30. This schedule is not the same as opening every Saturday. When planning a visit, the opening times of the particular venue matter: the association also has restaurants in Esch-sur-Alzette and Ettelbruck, each with its own arrangements.
Meals are prepared by people returning to work, under the supervision of professionals. The service thus combines catering with a pathway back into employment. The information page makes it possible to check practical details without presuming what response will be given in an individual case.
The Social Bistro is also a place of welcome
The Luxembourg Red Cross describes its “Uewerstadt” Social Bistro as a daytime refuge in the upper town. The services listed include rest, meals, emergency clothing, showers and toilets. Social workers hold drop-in sessions there. Its role therefore goes beyond providing a means of payment for another restaurant.
The Bistro is part of the Emergency Reception and Accommodation Service, the SALU, which also includes street work and other forms of assistance. Street teams meet people in public spaces, offer support and inform them about the options available.
The Red Cross gives 27 55 55 15 as the number for this service. The street work contact is streetwork@croix-rouge.lu. A request can specify the immediate need — food, a warm place, or someone to speak to — so that the person can be directed to appropriate support. These contacts do not guarantee that a token will automatically be granted.
Asking for guidance when the usual route no longer works
Stëmm also has a social service. It describes this as complementary to other organisations: providing information, advice, support and guidance according to the request. The association says that a new case file is not opened systematically. The secretariat can be reached on 49 02 60.
When a venue no longer provides the usual token, useful information should go beyond the refusal: which service can see the person, when, and what help can it offer? Asking for these details makes it possible to distinguish a change in the process from an absence of any known solution. It also avoids treating all restaurants, daytime reception centres and street teams as a single service.
The practical issue remains access to a meal. It must be possible to understand together the price displayed, the organisation that may be able to cover it, and the other forms of support available. The practical information above was checked against the associations’ pages on 14 November; individual situations should be discussed with their teams.
Illustrative photograph: vegetable soup and bread, photographed in Vantaa, Finland, in February 2024. This meal was not photographed in a Stëmm restaurant. Photo: JIP — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
