French reminded that charity really can begin at home

For many Christmas and the run-up to the holiday season is a time of course just as much about "giving" as "receiving".

And the French have had a reminder of that this weekend with an idea, that although it is far from being unique to this country, also serves as a lesson as to how easy it can be to help those who are less fortunate.

Up and down the country, anyone popping along to their local supermarket to do their weekly shop over the past couple of days will have been handed a leaflet as they entered.

Printed on it was a list of non-perishable items, such as rice, pasta, baby food, tinned vegetables and so on.

Shoppers if they wished, were invited to simply add to their baskets some of the suggested items as they went around, pay as usual at the checkout and then drop them off at collection point before leaving the supermarket.

It was all part of a campaign organized annually in the run-up to Christmas by this country's "banque alimentaire" or food bank.

The first food bank in France dates back to 1984 - set up on the same model that exists in north America.

Running for two days, over 90,000 volunteers were on hand this year to collect non-perishable goods donated by shoppers, and the hope of the French federation of food banks is that this year's collection will have yielded the same sort of generosity as 2007.

Last year volunteers collected a record of almost 10,000 tonnes of foodstuff (or the equivalent of more than 20 million meals - or 14 per cent of the federation's annual distribution) over the same two day period.

Although the hope is to have collected even more this year, the worry has been that the credit crunch and belt tightening - in France as elsewhere - will have discouraged people from making a donation.

That was a particular concern for the president of the French federation of food banks, Alain Seugé, going into the two days.

He said figures show a record number of people have already used the services of the food bank this year - 100,000 more people than in 2007.

And that number coincides with a change in the "profile" of the people dependent on help.

"When they were created back in 1984 the idea was to distribute food to those on the periphery of society and meet their needs - the homeless or immigrant families with few means," he said.

"Today around 15 per cent of those we're helping are actually in employment, and that compares to just nine per cent a couple of years ago," he added.

"There has also been an increase in the number of pensioners and unemployed dependent on some sort of help from the food bank."

That's also the view backed up by another organisation, Restaurants du Cœur (or Restos du Cœur as it's more commonly known here) which will be starting its big Christmas push on Monday.

It's a charity relying on donations, and was set up in 1985 by the late comedian Coluche, to provide free meals and distribute food packages to the needy.

Over the years it has become something of a national institution here in France, with over 100 regional and autonomous branches springing up throughout the country, and similar affiliates being launched in neighboring Germany and Belgium.

Every January actors, singers, musicians and personalities from the world of French show biz get together for a televised concert with the proceeds from the sale of the CD and DVD all being ploughed back into the cause.

Even before this year's campaign begins in earnest, the president of the charity, Olivier Berthe, is warning that it's going to have its work cut out meeting the demand.

"The campaign hasn't been launched and already there has been an increase of between 5-10 per cent over the same period last year of people seeking help," he said.

"In particular there has been an increase in the number of elderly, young and single parent families who have registered for assistance," he added.

"We're even seeing some groups, such as farmers, who are having a hard time - and we rarely see them.

"If we don't manage to mobilise enough donation - in France as well as the rest of Europe, we'll just not be able to manage."