Maiora, SPAR regional wholesaler for central and southern Italy, is reinforcing its partnership with WorkAut, a charity promoting work opportunities and social inclusion for people with autism and other forms of neurodiversity. On 2 April, World Autism Awareness Day, Maiora launched ‘Let’s Connect’, its latest initiative with WorkAut.

The ‘Let’s Connect’ initiative aims at providing working experience in a variety of food retail store departments to neurodivergent people.

To mark World Autism Awareness Day, a team of neurodivergent people were invited to support retail operations at the delicatessen area of the INTERSPAR Hypermarket in Corato, Bari.

The team from WorkAut will experience working in different departments of SPAR Supermarkets on scheduled days throughout the year. From supporting the food-to-go counter to promoting fresh bread to customers, the team will be involved in a range of retail activities.

Maiora has been promoting the inclusion of neurodivergent people for several years and is an active partner of Trani Autism Friendly, an initiative of the city of Trani.

Source: SPAR regional operator Maiora and DESPAR Italia

Read more news from SPAR Italy

About SPAR Italy

SPAR Italy, known locally as DESPAR Italia, was first granted the SPAR Brand’s licence in 1959. The first store opened in 1960. With it, SPAR became the first partnership of retailers and wholesalers to operate in the country. In addition, SPAR Italy licenses regional partners, all of whom work together to grow the brand across the country.

The DESPAR Partners operate stores under three formats: DESPAR Neighbourhood Supermarkets, EUROSPAR Supermarkets, and INTERSPAR Hypermarkets. Many of the larger format stores are company-owned, reflecting the scale of investment required. While the company achieves most of its turnover through these larger format stores, the independently owned neighbourhood supermarkets remain vital.