The health crisis linked to Covid-19 has resulted in a serious social crisis in certain districts of Seine-Saint-Denis, already exposed to great precariousness. Since the first confinement, several associations and some communities have increased food distributions. Seine-Saint-Denis Habitat, the first social landlord in the department (32,000 homes), has decided to get started. This Monday, December 21, 2020, he launched the first tour of his“food truck solidaire”.
1,000 food packages delivered in two days
For this first day, the truck stopped at Romainville, La Courneuve, Clichy-sous-Bois, Bondy or even at the city of Quatre Tours in Blanc-Mesnil. There, in less than an hour, around fifty tenants arrived at the foot of a building in front of the premises of Seine-Saint-Denis Habitat to collect the food. The distribution is done on simple presentation of the identity card with a mention of the number of people in the home. Inside the box: oil, flour, pasta and other dry foods, but also hydroalcoholic gel and some anti-Covid masks. The packages were prepared by the Banlieues Santé association.
“It warms hearts”
“It allows you to put butter in the spinach“Says Aïcha, a retiree. Arlette, she is also retired. With the crisis and her two dependent granddaughters, it is not easy to fill her fridge on certain days. “Me alone, I would do with it. If there is no food for me, a glass of coffee and a crust of bread and it’s good. But we have to help the children too”, she confides. She welcomes this operation, especially before the holidays, “It warms hearts, we know we’re not alone”. Miguel, came with his pregnant wife, Cindy. This is the first time that this father has come to a food distribution. “I am a temporary worker but I had to work only four days in eight months, so it’s useful.”
– Hajera Mohammad
Identification of tenants in greatest difficulty
To identify the tenants in greatest difficulty, Seine-Saint-Denis Habitat agents had to do some work upstream. “The guards in particular went door to door. We also identified isolated people, those who could no longer pay their rent. We called them to tell them that there was a food distribution today.”, explains Nassima Boudrai, responsible for social and urban development. “We are in principle in a period of festivals, the idea is also to bring a little material comfort but also a solidarity initiative which shows that the lessor is first and foremost concerned about the lives of its tenants”, adds Stéphane Troussel, President of the Office and President of the Departmental Council.
Murièle Souris, secretary of the Four Tours Tenants Association, nevertheless thinks that many did not come, “question of dignity … they are ashamed”, “however I went to ring some doors twice to convince them to come”, explains the one who has lived in the neighborhood for years. “Many families lost a job during this crisis but also loved ones”, she recalls, moved.
New scheduled distributions
In total, le “food truck solidaire” of Seine-Saint-Denis Habitat must deliver 1,000 packages in two days. The operation should be repeated regularly.
Here are the locations and times of the distributions scheduled for Tuesday, December 22:
- Saint-Ouen : building 2, Cité Charles Schmidt (10h)
- Villetaneuse : 8 rue Pablo Neruda, Cité Allende (11h)
- Stains : 2-4 avenue Nelson Mandela, Clos Saint-Lazare (12h)
- The Blanc-Mesnil : 150 avenue Pasteur, Cité Pasteur (2 p.m.)
- Bobigny : Place de l’Europe, Cité de l’Abreuvoir (3 p.m.)
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