“Students don’t have enough to eat every week” and there are more and more of them, warns a Parisian association

“You can have mushrooms, or a can of beans and two of tuna…“, suggests one of the volunteers in front of a long queue of students. They have all come to take advantage of one of the food distributions of the Cop1 association, in Paris. Faced with record inflation, many have taken to shopping there, for lack of means. “I used to go once a month, now I go twice“, testifies Yolhène, in Master 1, bag filled with cans and other prepared meals.

The student has only 40 euros per month to do her shopping. “I have the same budget as for a year, but with inflation I cannot afford to buy certain things, it has become even more difficult this year“, regrets the young woman. A cobservation also shared by Zacharia, a literature student at the Sorbonne: “Inflation gains more and more ground, prices increase by 50 cents, 20 cents, 30 cents until we realize that we have spent 50 euros, 60 euros more compared to the month last.“

“We feel it, we try to spend more time outside so as not to heat up, so as not to turn on the light all the time.”

Rènoi, work-study student

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Small sums which, added end to end, weigh on the budget. Food prices have increased by almost 12% over one year. So despite his 1,000 euros a month, Rènoi, alternately, can’t get away with it:”For example, buying some cheese, turkey, ham is really extra.“Inflation comes on top of a sharp rise in energy prices, further reducing student spending margins.

Result: the queue in front of the food distribution is getting longer. “It’s true that we have more and more newnotes Louise, one of the Cop1 volunteersthe distributions, which we try to do as often as possible, really help a lot of people.” “Demand from students is only increasing“, adds Ines El Houary, general secretary of the association, we opened a fourth food distribution per week, and despite our efforts, there are still students who do not have enough to eat every week.“

Registrations for access to these distributions are overflowing. “We publish the tickets on Tuesday, they are directly full“, describes Ines El Houary. Today those in Paris, Marseilles and Angers feed 2,200 students every week. Among them, many are non-scholarship holders, and not always eligible for the aid put in place so far by the State.