With orange vests on their backs, they will be at the entrance to your supermarket on November 22, 23 and 24. Volunteers from the Bordeaux and Gironde Food Bank are preparing to take their place at the entrance to no less than 250 hypermarkets and supermarkets in the department for the annual national collection.
An annual collection to satisfy 10% of needs
4100. This is the number of tonnes of food distributed in the form of packages to the 127 partner associations and CCAS in 2023. That is no less than 2,800,000 meals.
During the last annual collection, the Gironde Food Bank had the pleasant surprise of seeing the number of donations increase by 12%. And that’s despite inflation.”This is explained by the fact that everyone has been affected by inflation“, according to Valérie Bolze, president of the Gironde Food Bank. “Everyone saw their receipts increase. So in our heads, we say to ourselves, it could happen to me one day that I no longer have the means to eat properly. And this idea will push us to be more generous.” The Food Bank hopes to have the same level of generosity during this new collection weekend where canned vegetables, fish, cooked products and even pasta and rice are in greatest demand.
Increasing numbers of beneficiaries
This year again, the observation is the same: the number of beneficiaries continues to increase in partner associations where food packages are distributed while donations from stores continue to decline. In 2023, 22,300 people received food packages via the 127 partner food aid associations and CCAS. Before covid, there were 18,000.”We have more and more new profiles such as retirees but also young workers who are often people who have a part-time permanent contract“, confides Valérie Bolze, president of the Bordeaux and Gironde Food Bank. And 2024 could still follow the same path.
Besides that, the Food Bank is mobilizing to get these beneficiaries out of precariousness. “Our mission is not limited to distributing food parcels. We put in place a certain pedagogy by offering, for example, cooking workshops to teach how to cook and use seasonal products which often cost less than buying splats to cook. And which are also better for your health. We put together recipe cards for cooking certain vegetables. Getting back into the kitchen can reduce the grocery bill.“
A call for volunteers and truck loans
Like every year, the Bordeaux and Gironde Food Bank insists on the call for volunteers. To cover the 250 stores over three collection days, between 2,400 and 2,500 volunteers are needed. 15 days before the meeting, no less than 500 to 600 people would be missing. “Everyone can participate“, recalls Christian Bost, collection manager for the Gironde Food Bank. “And above all, we remind you that you can come for two hours for example. You don't have to stay all day.”
Another call: to transport companies to lend trucks. “We rent them, but if a company is willing to lend us vehicles, we are willing to transport the collected foodstuffs from the stores to our warehouses.”
The call is therefore launched. All the information can be found on the website of the Bordeaux and Gironde Food Bank.
