The phone keeps ringing. If all the usual activities such as changing rooms, professional integration or even access to culture, the Secours populaire de Nancy continues at all costs to distribute food aid. Milk, pasta, rice, canned food or even some fresh vegetables are distributed three days a week locally. But the association has faced increased demand.
“From 98 registrants before, we are now 152 families for the Nancy branch alone. And all the committees remain open, in Neuves-Maisons, Pompey, Jarny, Piennes, Vézelise and Dombasle ”, explains Isabelle Vitte the director in Nancy. Among the new beneficiaries, many people on fixed-term contracts, on an interim basis or awaiting an RSA (Active Solidarity Income) file.
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“Adapting to the influx”
They even have students who had a small job at the university restaurant and who found themselves without income overnight, forced to appeal to generosity. Of course, we had to adapt to respond to this influx. They could not accommodate everyone in the room. “We take registrations by phone, then people come in one by one with a number to take the food. Everyone wears a mask. We made fabric, washable, for the beneficiaries from the start, with which they leave, ”describes the manager. After each person, the volunteers clean the tables used to exchange food. Likewise, people fill their bags themselves. It is out of the question to lend assistance, always with the aim of minimizing all contact.
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Internal difficulties
But Secours populaire also had to face internal problems. Many of the usual volunteers are retirees with health problems, they could not reasonably come. Fortunately, many employees in confinement volunteered. “70 people came to the aid, it is also thanks to them that we continued”, rejoices Isabelle Vitte. “We need 7 people per half day … I don’t know yet how we are going to organize when they leave for work. “
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Six to seven tonnes per week
Six to seven tonnes of goods are distributed per week, but that again poses some problems. If the restaurateurs and the Crous supplied their stocks from the very first days, the Secours populaire no longer has activities that allow the collection of food or money to buy them. And after seven weeks, the situation becomes difficult. At the departmental level, around 20,000 € per month are missing. “We have applied for grants and we appeal to the generosity of individuals,” says Isabelle Vitte.
To donate to Secours populaire, send your checks to 100, rue du Gal Leclerc 54000 Nancy, on the website or the Secours populaire de Meurthe-et-Moselle Facebook page.
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