Food handouts at Les Vernets: 1683 parcels distributed

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The City of Geneva coordinated the event by making significant logistical resources available and setting up social and health information points. In a nod to Mother’s Day, every woman was offered a flower thanks to the generosity of a donor.
Two feelings prevailed at the conclusion of the day’s activities: concern at the weekly increase in the number of people prepared to queue for hours for these parcels; and delight about the civic solidarity movement that has made it possible to collect donations from both major donors and hundreds of private individuals. Background explanations.

First the figures

Over and above the many municipal services and associated partners, 80 volunteers made it possible for this distribution to take place efficiently and without anyone suffering from the heat.
The parcels contained food dropped off by 800 private donors, who came throughout the day on foot and by bicycle, car and even lorry to demonstrate their support for this initiative: a tremendous collective success. The Geneva Food Bank known as Partage handed out some eight tonnes of goods (pasta, rice, oil, sugar, tinned food and hygiene products). The parcels were supplemented with oats, cocoa and coffee. A second parcel of fresh produce (four tonnes of lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers and apples) was offered by local producers. Families with infants were also offered nappies and cleaning wipes.

Caravane de Solidarité

Let’s start with the organisation that started the movement, Caravane de Solidarité. A few weeks ago, 120 people were turning up at their food parcel distribution sessions. With the support of the city and the participation of the Colis du Coeur association, the initiative took on a whole new dimension, but the Caravane is still there. It was the latter that first reached the community of Latin American and Filipino “invisibles”. The latest food bank users are more diverse, with strong representation from Mongolia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
Caravane’s director, Silvana Mastromatteo, salutes the numerous donors who have placed their trust in her organisation and says she is very proud of the magnificent solidarity movement it has helped initiate. She pays particular tribute to the involvement of neighbourhood associations, which amassed 400 parcels in and around Cologny alone; the Dames de la Côte association was responsible for a further 300.

Colis du Coeur on the front line

Colis du Coeur director Pierre Philippe notes that last Saturday alone, no fewer than 662 new persons were entered into the association’s database; registrants receive, at their home, a weekly voucher worth between CHF 50 and 150 each week, depending on the size of the family. “What this means is that these distributions have attracted a whole section of the population that until now has been under the radar.” Another point: this phenomenon has brought the city’s network of associations that coordinates the initiative closer together. “The social system must readjust to meet the needs arising from the crisis.” This week saw a total of no fewer than 7700 persons receive help from Colis du Cœur.

Focus on the most vulnerable

The staff of the city’s social and schools services, HEKS/EPER (the aid organisation of the Swiss Protestant Churches) and the Undocumented Migrants Defence Collective in charge of the social centre point out that a large number of young families with small children as well as several pregnant women came looking for information. Every effort was made to distribute water and deliver people back to their homes by car when the waiting time – up to six hours – or the heat became difficult.
The Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) and the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical organisation were present at last Saturday’s distribution: they played an important part in the study carried out involving 550 beneficiaries. Almost half were eligible for social support and should therefore be directed to the appropriate agencies. Health officials also noted the great amount of interest in the family planning stand, which answered many questions about contraception.
MSF’s head of mission for Switzerland, Patrick Wieland, said that in the midst of an epidemic, it would be a good time to advocate for free COVID tests and access to healthcare without having to pay an insurance excess.

Access to rights

At the end of this distribution, Esther Alder, the magistrate with responsibility for social cohesion, revealed that she was very worried about the number of people seeking basic assistance due to their inability to cope with life’s vicissitudes. “Aside from access to food, we need to be promoting access to social rights for this section of the population.” Esther Alder magistrate would like to thank all the highly committed volunteers and the donors who made this distribution possible. “The images that generated the headlines have awakened the humanist side of Geneva.”

Contacts

Manuelle Pasquali, Département de la cohésion sociale et de la solidarité

• 079 446 40 13
• manuelle.pasquali-deweck@ville-ge.ch

Pour la Caravane de Solidarité, Silvana Mastromatteos

• 077 418 79 28
• cdsgeneve@gmail.com

Pour les Colis du Cœur, Pierre Philippe

• 078 619 0806
• pierrephilippe@colisducoeur.ch