After a year of health crisis, precariousness has not disappeared. For the Restos du cœur or the Red Cross, if the reality on the ground sometimes differs, the need to provide food aid is still there. However, the operation is done more and more just in time.
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To the Red Cross
With its two reception centers located in Thionville, the Red Cross continues to welcome its beneficiaries. But for a year, “globally, there has been an increase in demand for food aid, even if this has varied in the branches we deal with between Thionville, Guénange, Sierck-les-Bains, Bouzonville and Audun-le-Tiche. This represents around 10% more beneficiaries, ”said Jean-Hugues Doucet, president of the Red Cross of Thionville.
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Whether it is emergency aid or that offered several times a month, this observation is also accompanied by an evolution “at the level of the population that we take care of. Now we have young workers who, after the 20th of the month, have no more money to pay for food. “
Another problem is the food that is running out. “Three weeks ago, we had to buy € 2,000 worth of food. The Food Bank is finding it more and more difficult to provide us with supplies and the health situation does not help with the collections ”, including for the next one, scheduled for late April, early May. “People are still generous, but we’re not sure we will have any more stock until then. We are thinking about solutions like partnering with stores or buying new. ”
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At the Restos du cœur
For the Thionville West Moselle branch of Restos du cœur, which is finishing its winter campaign, “we have not observed any particular increase in beneficiaries. It is even tending to stabilize, ”observes President Arlette Kuhn. “We have seen a decrease in migrant populations with the closures of hotels on rue Foch and rue du Manège. Some families were returned to the border, others moved to Fameck or Hayange. “
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However, here too, the question of food arises. “In winter, the European Community provides the majority of donations, although the quantities decrease each year. But during the summer campaign, we have to rely on collections, and the closures of large surfaces do not help. This year, we will be in Leclerc and Lidl for example, but not in Géric. 2020 has been a very generous year in donations, but for 2021 we will be sorely lacking in volunteers. Many of them are retirees over the age of 70, so we don’t want to take any chances. “
Fewer collections and therefore fewer distributions.
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