A healthy society should look after its most vulnerable groups that have been affected both economically and socially by the recent economic crisis. A wide range of social organization has emerged recently in order to fulfill their value-based mission within a society. They include solidarity, equity, serving, preserving human dignity and ensuring delivery of common food and other toiletries to the low income earners in the society. One form of these organizations is Social Supermarkets which are relatively new phenomenon interlinking social needs with the traditional food supply chains. As an emerging phenomenon, Social Supermarkets have to be researched in other to clarify the importance.
An Emerging Economy is an economy that is progressing toward becoming more advanced, usually by means of rapid growth and Industrialization. The four largest emerging economies in the world are referred to as the BRIC Countries; they are Brazil, Russia, India, and china.
DEFINITION
Social Supermarket is a shop selling discount good to people on a low income. Where shoppers will have a membership cards, which are being issued to families below a certain income level. Social Supermarkets are a form of non-profit organizations, which use the workforce of volunteers and paid employees as well offering a limited assortment of products at symbolic prices primarily in self-service manner. The products are donated by Food production and retail companies at discount rate to the people who are in situations of poverty.
Social Supermarket is a new retail format that fosters positive social change by fulfilling material needs of the socially disadvantaged groups and given them an opportunity to preserve their dignity in an environment where they can choose various kinds of goods at extremely low prices.
Social supermarket emerged as the answer to economic crisis in every country. Their main purpose is to serve those groups of customers which have low income or which are in severe material deprivation and reduction of inefficiency in traditional supply chains through removal of surpluses of produced food. In addition, according to analyzed definitions, Social Supermarket can be viewed as a new type of intermediaries within the food distribution chain.
Therefore, the following are the importance of Social Supermarket:
·Social benefits such as reduction of food insecurity and life quality improvement of socially endangered citizens, improvement of their social inclusion, growth of self-confidence in communication with others and fostering feelings of belonging to a certain community by treating their users as a clients and strengthens their sense of dignity.
·Environmental benefits which are related with food waste reduction throughout distribution of Food surplus from companies, retailers and individuals to final users.
·Economic benefits which are related with better reallocation of scarce resources because users can make by purchasing products at lower prices in Social Supermarket.
CONCLUSION
Social Supermarket represents a specific form of social enterprises that reconcile social and market components of business. They possess element of social enterprises focusing on the work of volunteers and achieve a social impact by reducing hunger and fostering solidarity, social responsibility, and civil initiative to end hunger in Nigeria.