Food banks are on the front line of the increase in precariousness. According to figures presented on Monday February 26 at the International Agricultural Show in Paris, the first food aid network in France has seen the number of people welcomed increase by almost 30% in three years (including + 8% to + 9 % for the year 2023), to reach 2.6 million people.
The profile of the supported public is changing: if single people constitute the majority (41%), followed by single-parent families (31%), the share of young people is increasing (+19% in five years), as is that of workers. poor. Today, 17% of people welcomed have a job, among whom a majority (60%) have a permanent contract but earn less than the minimum wage.
Behind the social difficulties, there is also a health risk that is looming. To understand the impact of food insecurity on health, the network conducted a new study, whose results were published on Monday.
The survey was carried out between October and December 2023, with methodological support from Action Against Hunger, among 140 people welcomed as part of health prevention workshops carried out by the network. The sample is modest, but the study is expected to be completed in 2024 and 2025 with other components, notably interviews.
“The respondents to our survey are generally well aware of the link between diet and healthnotes Barbara Mauvilain, head of the institutional relations department of the Federation of Food Banks. They mainly eat home-cooked meals and more than half eat legumes more than twice a week, which brings them closer to the recommendations of the national nutrition and health program. »
Health problems
Among the worrying points: a third of them only eat two meals a day or less. In addition to the issue of price, the lack of cooking equipment at home is one of the obstacles to the adoption of good eating practices: 6% of people consulted do not have a refrigerator, 9% do not have hotplates and 10 % do not have an oven.
These results corroborate previous studies, in particular a survey by the VRAC network – a structure which offers quality food in a short circuit, at social prices – carried out in priority neighborhoods, published in November 2023which signaled the same obstacle linked to precariousness and the structure of housing.
The food bank survey highlights an over-representation of health problems among participants in its workshops: a quarter of respondents declared themselves to be in poor or very poor health; a third report cardiovascular problems or overweight and obesity; 15% are diabetic, compared to 5% in the general population. “The number of people with diabetes has doubled in fifteen years in France and will continue to increase”comments Bastien Roux, director general of the French Federation of Diabetics, who recalls that type 2 diabetes (which represents more than 90% of diabetes in France) is very unevenly distributed geographically (with a prevalence twice as high in overseas departments than in mainland France) and according to the social gradient, with a risk of diabetes three times higher for people eligible for universal health coverage.
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