Kick-off of the “vital” national collection of Restos du cœur

The Restos du cœur are launching their national collection on Friday March 5, which this year takes on a "

"

dimension

given the health and economic crisis which should result in a "

" in beneficiaries of food and hygiene products .

Read also: Patrice Douret, the conductor of Restos du cœur

This collection in supermarkets, which will end on Sunday evening, "

", underlines, to AFP, the president of the association, Patrice Douret.

"

" he adds. .

During the previous campaign in 2020, the association collected 7,400 tonnes of food - the equivalent of 7 million meals - a target it hopes to exceed this year.

Born from a "

" of Coluche 35 years ago, the "Restaurants" must also deal with 4 to 5 million euros of lost earnings linked to the loss of ticketing revenues - the annual concert of the Enfoirés having had to be recorded without an audience due to the coronavirus epidemic.

The crisis engendered by Covid-19 has plunged many people into precariousness, especially students, with long queues in front of food aid distribution centers in Paris and other cities in France.

According to a study published in February, more than 2.1 million people are benefiting from food aid at the start of 2021 and more than half (51%) of those helped say they have been using it for less than a year. .