For more than a year, between two and four million people in France had to rely on food aid. In a highly detailed study published Tuesday, INSEE disproves a number of popular beliefs. We decided to beat them, with supporting figures!
Recent calls for food aid are not necessarily related to the health crisis
While half of the people in need of food aid have been receiving it for less than two years, only 10% actually need it because of the health crisis. Even if Covid-19 only partially explains the shift of some to food aid, the crisis has accentuated their uncertainty. Between March 2020 and November/December, 44% of them lost their income. On the other hand, many students have indeed become insecure due to the pandemic. Of the 83% of students who had benefited since March 2020 – the date of the first incarceration – a quarter blamed the health crisis by the end of 2021.
Food aid does not primarily benefit the homeless
Only” 23% of the beneficiaries of the meal distribution are homeless. A figure that should be compared with the 68% of people who have no personal accommodation and need a hot meal. In fact, the living situation indicates what kind of food aid the people concerned need. Logical, because it is necessary to have a kitchen to be able to prepare the food that is taken from a social supermarket or when you receive a package. At the end of 2021, centers distributing food parcels received 70% of food aid beneficiaries, while 29% went to a social supermarket and 12% visited a meal distribution center. Note that Appellants may require different types of distribution…
No, immigrants are not the ones receiving the most food aid
44% of people in France who benefit from one of the forms of food aid are born abroad. Nevertheless, INSEE warns that this proportion is actually around 50% for the simple and good reason that you must be French-speaking to answer its survey, if not a minimum of mastery of French. However, it is at the level of the types of food aid that a peculiarity should be noted: there are twice as many immigrants when distributing meals (16% against 8% for non-immigrants).
(ETX Daily Up)