2023-09-06 20:14:24
By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted 57 minutes ago, Updated 50 minutes ago
Marc Fesneau, Minister of Agriculture. WILLIAM SOUVANT / AFP
In the afternoon, the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau brought together “the entire food chain” to “facilitate dialogue between them”.
Several agri-food or hygiene product manufacturers announced on Wednesday an increase in their in-kind donations to associations which organize aid for the most deprived, after appeals launched by the Restos du Cœur and the Red Cross, against a backdrop of food price inflation. Manufacturers of pasta, preserves, biscuits or dairy products Barilla, D’Aucy, Mondelez, Danone, Panzani and manufacturers of hygiene and cosmetics products such as Essity and L’Oréal have increased their donations “of 600 tons deliverable immediately“, said Tuesday the office of the Minister of Industry Roland Lescure. Panzani has donated 200,000 packets of pasta, said a press release from the French leader in the sector.
Roland Lescure and the National Association of Food Industries (ANIA) urged the sector to mobilize on Monday, after the call for help launched on Sunday by the Restos du Cœur and on Monday by the Red Cross. In the afternoon, the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau brought together “the whole food chain» – farmers, associations, manufacturers and distributors – for «facilitate dialogue between them“, he declared to the press at the end of the meeting. “The main subject of the donation is the logistical capacity to collect these donations“, especially for fresh products, whose consumption times are short, underlined Marc Fesneau. “The associations need a million liters of milk in a fairly short time. How do we ensure that this need is met?»
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A “totally unprecedented initiative”
Same problem for fruit and vegetables: the Solaal association, which organizes donations between farmers and food aid associations, had “70 tonnes of broccoli to pick up in Finistère» and did «found someone to do it“, he related. Present at the meeting, the president of the Rungis International Market, Stéphane Layani, welcomed a “completely new initiative», with the meeting «for the first timeof all the actors. “The operators give every day, but we are in France, we need the State to organize.»
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Providing 35% of food aid in France, restaurants have already welcomed 1.3 million people since the beginning of 2023 compared to 1.1 million for the whole of last year. The Red Cross noted a 7% increase in requests for aid in the first half of the year compared to the first six months of 2022, a year itself marked by a 22% jump in requests compared to 2021. At Secours Populaire, the requests for help have progressedfrom 20 to 40%» according to the territories. The state has promised additional aid of 15 million euros to associations. The Crédit Mutuel foundation pledged 12.5 million euros after paying 5 million in March. The Arnault family (LVMH) announced 10 million euros in aid and TotalEnergies donated 5 million euros.
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