Rens (35) of Rene´s Croissanterie has been giving bread to those in need for decades
.Bread needed for those less fortunate
"I have been walking around Damstraat and the Red Light District all my life; I grew up among the addicted boys and girls, and the dealers. My parents, then fair operators, stood with stalls on the 'Pillenbrug' and the Pig Lock. Later they were able to buy Kwekkeboom's business -of croquettes- on Damstraat, and that's where we'll be for thirty years next year.
I have seen and experienced so much around here. Also when it was still really bad with addiction and crime. But we lived there together and you have to do it together. We gave unsold bread and pastries at the end of the day to people who needed them. Actually, they invented Too good to go to years ago, you know that? But they resold it among themselves.
Jacked bicycle as a thank you
.Yes, at some point they know where to find you. Before you know it there are thirty men at your door all day. That's how it was back then. Suddenly there was a stolen bicycle at your door as a thank-you. But I don't like all that, we try to fight crime and only want to help our fellow man who is having a hard time. I do it from the bottom of my heart for those boys and girls. And because I hope people would be so nice to me if I got into trouble. The chance is not that big, but it can happen to anyone.
I miss my Amsterdammers!
At one point, the neighborhood cop thought enough was enough. People thought it was a nuisance, so he told us not to give our bread to the homeless anymore. I then went to the walk-in centre to ask if they could take care of distribution. So that's what we've been doing for quite some time now: now employees of De Princehof, shelter for the homeless, come to pick up the bread for their visitors, and if it's really a lot we walk along for a while.
The neighborhood has changed, I notice that even more because of corona. I do miss my Amsterdammers, so come and get some cake or a sandwich.
Text: Sander Kersten and Jola Gosen | Image: Tessa Posthuma de Boer
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