Until Sunday, November 28, 2021, you may come across people in orange vests, going shopping … This is the traditional fall fundraising of the Food Bank. In the Hérault, 3,000 volunteers are mobilized for three days in 140 stores. This is 10% more than last year: this is explained by the fact that there are more volunteers. During the collection last November, it was the second confinement: some volunteers had chosen to stay at home.
More generosity and more needs
So far this year the harvest looks good, thanks or because of the Covid-19. Some offer whole shopping carts. Others are more careful with what they buy and no longer stop at the thumb mark. “It is not only those who are hungry and who do not have enough in quantity, Judge Bonnie, a 29-year-old who donated oil, preserves and soups. There are also those who only eat pasta. I think it’s important to offer them products that are better, from a nutritional point of view. In any case, that’s what I realized.“
The needs of the Food Bank are numerous. “Every day, we give to 1,300, 1,400 or even 1,500 beneficiaries. We were at 1,000 two years ago“, compares Régis Godard, president of the Food Bank of Hérault. He hopes to harvest 230 tonnes of food this year. Last year, the collection made it possible to reach 170 tonnes.
As every year, the Food Bank needs products that can be preserved, in particular canned goods (as is the case), oil and pasta. Donations are donated to 140 partners, municipal centers or private associations.