Food distribution: edifying images of students from Gironde queuing for three hours to be able to eat

In Talence, near Bordeaux (Gironde), these students are not queuing for a concert ticket, nor for an exceptional event, but quite simply to be able to eat. “I try to set a budget of 15 euros per week. I exceed it quite often, so the end of the month is a little complicated,” explains a young girl in the TF1 news report at the top of this article. “I live on a grant, so it’s 145 euros per month and on the side, I have a small student job. But hey, that’s not enough. Especially since my parents can’t help me”adds a young man.

Thus, three times a week, an army of students comes to wait for hours for a distribution of free food. An unfortunate illustration of increasingly worrying living conditions. Two million meal baskets were distributed last year and the number of beneficiaries continues to increase. “Demand is increasing and we have to help. So, we are making a lot of calls for donations, whether from large retailers or local businesses,” assures Cynthia Guillet, president of the “Linkee” association.

Seven kilos of food, fresh produce, fruits and vegetables

Wednesday October 2, the day of filming of the TF1 report, the distribution takes place in a “Jeunesse Habitat Solidaire” residence, in the heart of the campus. Each student receives seven kilos of food, fresh produce, fruits and vegetables. “It’s stuff that we only get through distribution, that we can’t buy personally with the student resources we have,” one of them advances. While a few work to try to put butter into the spinach, many cannot afford it.

Like Clotilde, a master’s student in chemistry. “I work from 8 a.m. to 6:20 p.m., every day. I have classes to revise, I have things to hand in so I don’t have time to find extra work during the week. It would necessarily be the weekend end, but does that mean when do I revise?”she asks.

In the end, I have 100 euros left to live on for the whole month, for transport, for food, to go out a little.

Anaé, cinema & audiovisual degree student

The beneficiaries of these collections only have 100 euros per month to dress themselves, take care of themselves, educate themselves or eat. This is the case of these two students, Nora and Anaé. “All the food you see is collection”they say, opening their refrigerator. Both worked during the summer to be able to support themselves. But with a student loan that they repay. Nora only spends between 30 and 50 euros on food each month. “I’m in a private school, I’m not entitled to Crous, so I have to cook for myself every lunchtime, every evening. And sometimes, I skip meals in the evening because ‘in the end, I don’t have much left in the end’confides Nora, in private fashion school. Anaé, a cinema & audiovisual degree student, adds: “In the end, I have 100 euros left to live on for the whole month, for transport, for food, to go out a little bit. It’s true that it’s complicated and tiring to always pay attention to the millimeter”.

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As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, the food distribution had still not been completed. More than 100,000 students now live below the poverty line.