The heart of Restaurants, created by Coluche, launched Tuesday, November 22, their 32nd winter campaign and are preparing to distribute food to hundreds of thousands of people.
- AFP
- Published on , updated on
© PATRICK KOVARIK / AFP
Since their creation in 1985 on a “small idea” of the comedian Coluche, more than two billion meals were served and the needs do not decline. “this time, one has a lot of entries. We will surely reach the same levels as last year, with nearly 930 000 people received in winter,” explained the president of the association, Patrice White.
The last winter 132.5 million meals had been distributed in the 2 112 centers and antennas of Restaurants. Single mothers, foreigners without resources, students penniless, retired…
“The welcome is unconditional,” insists the president of the association: “we express no judgment on the people who are knocking at our door. We welcome them as they are and are not asked to pay anything“.
To benefit from the food aid throughout the winter, it must, however, justify his / her resources and of his expenditure. In 1985, nearly 70 000 people had been enrolled. A figure that has exploded over the years.
millions of meals in the North and the Pas-de-Calais in 2015
The Nord and Pas-de-Calais region each have 4 associations of the Restaurants of heart. The Departmental Association of Restaurants in the Heart of the lille region boasts of 85 reception centres and food distribution in the agglomeration of Lille and the Douaisis. She prepares with its nearly 2,000 volunteers to help the people most in need.
During the winter of 2015, the foodstuffs distributed by the Association have helped to prepare 2 390 000 meals in this scope. Almost 29 000 needy people have benefited, or about 2.5% of the population.
as a reminder, the first Restaurant in the heart of France was opened in 1985 in Lille with the support of the EDHEC, the city of Lille and the regional Council.
The president of the departmental association of the mining basin, Claudine Decroix, launches a call for nominations for the volunteers in particular for key positions such as treasury, human resources, or even the animation.
to Deal with the scale of the needs, the Restaurants are in continual search of new sources of supply. Last year, donations from businesses and agricultural producers, and the national collection of have enabled the collection of 43 000 tonnes of food, or 40% of the volumes distributed. Donations of large surfaces
The Restaurants and eagerly await the entry into force of the act Garot against food waste, which makes mandatory the implementation of conventions of gift between the large surfaces of more than 400 m2, and the associations of food aid authorized.
“Its application is expected in February 2017, the decree is not released yet. It must be very clear to ensure that donations of quality“, argues Mr White. “It is necessary that it is large surfaces that will do the sorting and they do not give us products that we can redistribute, for example fresh products at least 48 hours before the date limit of consumption. Il should not be a trashcan“, he explains.
The association can also count on the generosity of the public : the amount of donations has reached 81.3 million euros in 2015, or half of the resources of the Restaurants. The traditional concert of the Enfoirés and the sales of CD’s and DVD’s are funding 11% of the budget, with the remainder provided by grants. In addition to the food distributions, the association of shelter assistance and housing offers courses in French, help with homework or job search, etc
five months of the presidential election, the president of the Restaurants expects that applicants detail their program of fight against poverty and commit to “to maintain or renegotiate on the rise” the budget of the Fund for european aid to the most deprived (FEAD), which will be operational from 2014, as the 71 000 volunteers of the association are realizing this every day : “needs“.
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