—
On Friday and Saturday, the Food Bank organized a large national collection in support of the most disadvantaged. 10,000 tons of food were collected at the 9,000 collection points in France, 1,500 tons less than last year. In the Alpes-Maritimes, however, the collection was a success.
Pasta, rice, canned goods, cereals, or cookies—this morning the volunteers at the Food Bank in Nice are busy sorting the collected products. The large warehouse, located between Carrefour Lingostière and Allianz Riviera, is filled with boxes placed on pallets containing food items. As Jean brings the large box to the sorting table using his hand truck, Josette, Claude, Isabelle, Tony, and Iris put on their gloves to separate the cookies from the pasta and cleaning products. “The atmosphere is good, so it’s more pleasant,” says Josette. The 67-year-old retiree arrived early this morning to help sort the 130 tons of goods collected last Friday and Saturday. “It’s wonderful to see people’s generosity. It shows us that there is still solidarity in our country,” she continues.
A collection of 130 tons is already a record for the Alpes Maritimes. “It’s better than last year,” announces Alain Depresle, communications manager for the Food Bank of the Alpes Maritimes. “But many trucks are still arriving, so it’s not over yet. We’ll wait a few days to have the numbers. We’re hoping for and expecting 145 tons, which would be a 17% increase over last year. People have been more generous this year despite the current context.”
The collection barely affected by the yellow vests
Present in more than 90 stores, the 1,000 orange vests of the Food Bank 06 “braved” the yellow vests’ blockades to participate in the collection. “We didn’t really feel impacted. Our volunteers were present, and so were the donors. Just look at the result!” emphasizes Alain Depresle, with an orange vest on his shoulders. He adds, “However, on Saturday, trucks had trouble accessing the different stores. They had to come back today or will do so tomorrow to collect the donations. But it’s not a big deal. We managed well.” According to Alain, the yellow vest movement even had a positive impact, a “collective awakening” that allowed store customers to be even more generous.
Happy associations benefiting from the collection
While the 130 tons of food products collected delight the volunteers, the truly happy ones are the associations. In fact, every day several associations come to collect products to redistribute to disadvantaged people. “It’s a boon for us. We always have something to distribute, but this is huge! We will be able to bring many products to people living in the hinterlands of Nice,” rejoices Pascal, a member of the Humanitarian Aid of the Firefighters. Like his association, there are 97 that come to collect food from the Food Bank’s warehouse. Regarding the recently collected products, it will take more than two weeks for sorting before Pascal can distribute them to the most in need. A little gift just days before Christmas.
Pierre Ferrand
