The 38th Restos du Coeur campaign begins this Tuesday, November 22 in France in a context of galloping inflation and rising energy prices. For this edition, the accent will be placed on the accompaniment of the people welcomed.
A bit of hope and optimism. The Restos du Coeur launch this Tuesday, November 22 their new and 38e annual campaign against a background of aggravated precariousness. After coping with Covid-19, hundreds of families are now facing the negative effects of an inflationary crisis and rising energy prices. Some of them even have to choose between “feeding” and “warming up”.
“From one crisis to another, no break for the most modest who suffer and who have seen their situation deteriorate even more sharply, with even harder access to food and greater mental distress for many. “When is this mess going to end?” is a phrase that I hear regularly on the ground, ”wrote Patrice Douret, president of the association founded by Coluche.
“This 2022/2023 campaign is that of a pivotal year, a year from one crisis to another, full of uncertainties and concerns, while our last financial year ended at the start of the inflationary crisis” , he added.
To better take into account the different aspects of the current crisis, the association has chosen to adapt its rules. To assess whether a person is eligible for aid, “Restos du Coeur” now takes into account not only their income and their household but also their heating costs.
Food and social support in the face of poverty
In its brochure of the 38e campaign, the association specifies that “over the past 6 months, the number of families welcomed has already increased by 15% before the start of the winter period” and 40% of the people helped are minors, “often children in single-parent families”, and one in four babies under the age of 3 born in a poor family is taken in by the association.
“The emphasis will also be placed during this 38th campaign on supporting the people received, while the Covid-19 crisis has often deprived them of it and accentuated their isolation. The association will mobilize all its means to continue to improve the conditions of reception of people in the centers, to multiply the meetings around their social situation and their difficulties, and finally by taking better into account the expenses related to the ‘energy in the support given,’ wrote the association.
However, this crisis is not without consequences for the Restos du Coeur. “Associations are also facing significant difficulties: increased purchasing costs, uncertainties about food donations, difficulties in implementing public procurement contracts for the European fund… Solidarity associations will experience a real “effect scissors”, with an increase in their needs and a decrease in their resources”, alerted the association.
Last year, the Restos welcomed nearly 1.1 million people and managed to distribute around 142 million meals in the 2,200 places of reception. Thus, 2,172 beneficiaries were supported on budgetary issues, 4,752 in their job search and 3,109 for access to justice.