‘Les riches auront de la nourriture, les pauvres de l’appétit.’
Coluche
‘J’ai une petite idée’…..
Les Restos du Coeur is a French charitable association which provides food packages and free meals to the poor and homeless, organised and served up by more than 50,000 volunteers around France. This year, 2020, is expected to be particularly hard.

Volunteers here in the PO are always needed and made welcome, particularly if you have a skill such as IT, painting, help with form filling…. that you are able to pass on. Equally needed are drivers, vehicles, storage….and of course donations of both goods and money.
Look out in October and March in your local supermarkets for volunteers manning (and womanning) trolleys for food donations. Buy an extra pack of pasta, rice, some loo roll, a tin of tuna, some ravioli, whatever you can manage…..and pop it in the trolley on the way out.
How it started
The concept was originally launched by popular French comedian Coluche, in August 1985 on a radio programme.
It quickly became the ’in’ thing to support and was backed by television and pop stars, artists, sports personalities, media and politicians throughout France. The death in 1986 of this big hearted clown only strengthened the resolve of his many famous friends to continue to support the cause that he had created.
‘Les Enfoirés’, (a rather rude word if you look it up in the dictionary but I will loosely translate it as the ‘rascals’), some of France’s biggest stars who performed in an annual benefit concert whilst he was alive, continue today to meet up for concerts throughout France, donating proceeds to the Restos du Cœur. By doing so, they prompt the media to explain the goals of the organisation and remind people of where they can donate or volunteer.
The organisation has centres across the P-O and usually distributes more than a million meals over the winter period.
They also run ‘Les Restos bébés du cœur’ for children, and are always in need of baby products and clothing, high chairs, prams, toys…..
As well as donations of food, furniture, cutlery and crockery and of course any financial aid, Les Restos du Coeur badly need vehicles and more space for storage, so if you have a large empty building available, they would love to hear from you!
27 rue Monticelli 66000 PERPIGNAN Tel 04 68 85 04 53 Email :restosducoeur66@wanadoo.fr |
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