French charity forced to cut number of beneficiaries as winter food drive begins
French charity Restos du Coeur on Tuesday launched its 39th food distribution campaign. The organisation says it has been forced to reduce the number of its beneficiaries due to financial difficulties caused by inflation.
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"Hunger is increasing, more and more people are in difficulty due to inflation," Patrice Douret, president of Restos du Coeur (Restaurants of the Heart) told French news agency AFP.
The launch of the 39th annual charity campaign was held at a distribution center in Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de -Seine) northwest of Paris in the presence of the French Minister for Solidarity Aurore Bergé and French Minister for Agriculture Marc Fesneau on Tuesday.
Founded by the stand-up comedian Coluche in 1985, the charity, which provides 35 percent of food aid in France, is alarmed at the increase in the number of people who are eligible for help.
"The trends are not reassuring," says Douret, adding that Restos du Coeur helped 1.3 million people in 2022-2023, compared to 1.1 million during the previous period.
Close to 60 percent of the households who receive aid live on less than 550 euros per month.
The increase in requests concerns all kinds of people across the country from single mothers, to retirees, employees in low-paying jobs and students.
Restos du Coeur says in recent months that the budget for food purchases, redistributed free of charge to beneficiaries, has doubled due to inflation.
Consumer goods prices jumped up by four percent in October, according to the latest data from INSEE, while energy costs went up by 5.2 percent and food saw a 7.8 percent increase.
For the first time in their history, Restos du Coeur has lowered the income level that qualifies for food aid.
Generosity
As a result, "between five and 10 percent of people who received aid last winter [will be] refused food aid this year," Douret says.
"There is a lot of resignation. People know that we are not able to welcome everyone."
These people can, however, benefit from the association's other services, such as clothing donations or job search support, he explains.
The association launched an appeal in September to raise 35 million euros.
The government granted an additional €10 million and the family of Bernard Arnault, owner of the world's top uxury brand LVMH, offered €10 million.
The rest of the money came from donations from businesses and individuals.
Despite being grateful for the generosity, Douret is still concerned for the long term.
He pointed out that 60 percent of the donations the charity receives are usually made between November and December.
"Did the donations received in September come from new people or were they donations from our usual supporters who will not necessarily be able to repeat their gesture at the end of the year?" Douret wonders.
To overcome this difficult milestone, the Restos du Coeur are asking the government to put in place a "food emergency plan", by "increasing the budget dedicated to food aid associations to €200 million, compared to around 150 million today".
(with AFP)
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