Nearly 150,000 people could be denied access to food aid provided by the Restos du Cœur this year. The president of this association founded by Coluche has announced a deficit of 35 million and a real possibility of having to go out of business.
Guest of 1 p.m. on TF1 on Saturday, Patrice Douret, president of Restos du Coeur, appealed for help to save the association. Founded by Coluche in 1985, the charity “needs 35 million euros to end the financial year in balance in March”. During from 8 p.m. of the same television channel, Sunday September 3, Aurore Bergé, Minister of Solidarity, affirmed that it was “out of question to imagine that the Restos can close the door or that the volunteers must give up helping those who present”. The government has therefore promised to provide 15 million euros to the Restos du Coeur.
Patrice Douret welcomed, to the World“a step forward and a desire on the part of the minister to go in the right direction” even if he insisted on recalling that “the 15 million announced include around ten million euros already planned as part of the “Eating better for everyone”.
The Restos du Cœur fail to respond to the explosion of requests for help
As a reminder, Emmanuel Macron had refused to respond to the meeting request of the four associations benefiting from European food aid, namely the Restos du Coeur, the Red Cross, the Secours populaire and the food banks. The president of the Restos du Coeur judged that they are not “enough heard and I would even say, perhaps, not taken seriously enough”.
During the winter of 2021-2022, the Restos du Coeur had seen the number of applicants jump by 22% in one year. This increase is accompanied by inflation which pulls the association’s budget into the red. Patrice Douret estimated that “at this rate, if we do nothing, even the Restos du Coeur could go out of business within three years”. In an attempt to limit the damage, the association therefore plans to “dramatically reduce” the number of beneficiaries in order to prioritize the poorest. 150,000 people will be affected and the amounts of aid will be reduced.
Who will be these 150,000 people who no longer receive aid from Restos du Coeur?
THE Food from the heart aim to help “those who need it most”. The reception process makes it possible to classify, in a certain form, the beneficiaries. It is thus necessary to renew its registration for food aid each year by justifying “the insufficiency of its resources”. This information is essential for volunteers to identify the needs of the people they welcome. People considered to be less in need of this assistance may no longer receive assistance from the association.
If a need must be guaranteed to be granted a meal basket from the Restos du Coeur, no proof is necessary to benefit from a hot meal in a center of the association.