French food aid charity forced to turn people away amid soaring demand
In September, the French charitable association Restos du cœur, which runs a nationwide network of tens of thousands of volunteers managing food banks and mobile street kitchens, announced that these would have to turn people away this winter due to growing demand and insufficient funding. Despite subsequent donations, the association is still grappling with a shortfall of food supplies, forcing it to apply stricter criteria for those seeking aid. As its winter campaign began this week, some families are refused help, while those accepted are receiving smaller parcels, much to the distress of the charity’s frontline volunteers. Manuel Magrez reports from two of its centres near Paris.
AfterAfter their calculator had reached the final sum, the two volunteers working for the Restos du cœur association were distinctly ill at ease. They had disappointing news to give Victoria, a Ukrainian mother sitting in front of them in the charity’s centre in Rueil-Malmaison, a suburb west of Paris. “We’re in an awkward situation madam,” said Monique-Odile Moulin, one of the volunteers. “You’re in a difficult situation, and so are we.” This winter, unlike the last, the charity would not be able to provide food parcels for Victoria and her son – only her mother was entitled to receive the aid.
