At Migros in Delémont, report from the volunteers of the boxes of the heart

There were already merchandise left before the volunteers arrived, a few minutes after the store opened, says Simone Rais. “People know, by dint of…”
Saturday morning, placed just behind the Migros checkout with three shopping carts, this volunteer collects what customers want to give. The harvest is good, she says. It is true that the number of people who stop is quite impressive. “There are more of them than in the past but they give in smaller quantities than in the past. All in all, we achieve a certain balance,” notes David Berthoud, president of the association.
“It could be me”
A lady stops. She puts down some jars of jam and other things. “Why am I giving? Maybe I’ll be the one who needs it one day,” she says straight away. A young father let his daughters choose what he was going to give. “Pasta, tuna, toothbrushes,” they list from the top of the shopping cart’s step. A third: “I give willingly. I’ve been doing it for 20 years. But I’m a little embarrassed when it goes to immigrants. They receive enough help. The Swiss also need it. Sometimes, they are in addition bad posture again.” A fourth slips a 20 franc note. “I prefer to do it that way. I never know what to buy. So they’ll take what they need most.” A sixth leaves a chocolate advent calendar. Will it be distributed on time? “We will put it as a priority in next week’s distribution,” promises Simone Rais.
Rapid evolution
The demand for aid has almost doubled in ten years, notes David Berthoud. The beneficiaries have also changed. “They are Mr. and Mrs. Everyman. Before that was not the case.” Would a second operation during the year thus become appropriate? “We have already thought about it, but a collection mobilizes 120 volunteers in the Delémont district alone,” slips the president.
Placed at the bottom of the escalator, François Flury is, for example, responsible for raising awareness among customers arriving at the store. And to explain to them what to take to be useful: non-perishable foods obviously, but primarily hygiene and cleaning products. “That’s what costs us the most when stock runs out and we have to restock.”