The figures for food insecurity are still alarming. “Between 5 and 7 million people” had recourse to food aid in 2020 indeed warns Secours Catholique in its annual report on the state of poverty in France published this Thursday, based on data from the General Directorate of Social Cohesion (DGCS).
The median standard of living of people helped by Secours Catholique this year stands at 537 euros, six euros less compared to last year, a figure that remains below the poverty line set in 2018 at 1,063 euros. . After the need to listen, food aid is the first request expressed by households supported by Secours Catholique. “It is a humiliation that our country inflicts on nearly 10% of its population,” said Véronique Devise, president of the association.
The association distributed 5 million euros in service vouchers
To cope with the food emergency of its most deprived beneficiaries, the Secours Catholique distributed 5 million euros, supported by the State, in the form of service vouchers with a maximum value of 50 euros in 2020. This solution has enabled 67,000 households to purchase the food and hygiene products of their choice. A solution “very appreciated by the beneficiaries who can choose what they put in their basket”, explains Amélie Prou, director of the solidarity grocery store “Ma p’tite echoppe” in Antony in the Hauts-de-Seine, supported by association.
For its annual report which compiles data for 2020, Secours Catholique conducted a study of 1,088 households receiving emergency food aid offered in the form of service vouchers. Couples with children (37.7%) and single mothers (31.7%) are the most represented profiles. 27% of respondents say they do not eat for a whole day or more.
In total, the 61,300 volunteers of Secours Catholique came to the aid of nearly 777,000 people in 2020 against 1.39 million in 2019. The number of beneficiaries fell due to the organizational constraints encountered by the association during the two confinements. from 2020.