Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, 5 June 2024 – In an unprecedented show of solidarity, the three cantons of French-speaking Switzerland have responded en masse to the call for help during Operation Saturday of Sharing. This remarkable mobilisation enabled an impressive 269 tonnes of food and hygiene products to be collected, to support people in need.
Faced with a worrying economic situation marked by the repercussions of crises and soaring prices, many families now find themselves in a precarious situation, struggling to meet their most basic needs. Against this backdrop, supplying food banks and food aid associations has become a real challenge. However, thanks to the unwavering commitment of those taking part in the operation, there is now a groundswell of support.
The people of French-speaking Switzerland responded en masse to the call for solidarity with the most disadvantaged in their respective regions. For its first edition, Fribourg saw the harvest of 27 tonnes, the canton of Vaud collected 67 tonnes of provisions, while the canton of Geneva was the scene of an impressive harvest of almost 175 tonnes. These figures show an increase of 36.7% for Vaud and 4.1% for Geneva compared with the June 2023 edition. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the donors who took part in Sharing Saturday.
It is with immense gratitude that we salute the tireless efforts of the more than 1,870 volunteers in total, including more than 1,100 from Geneva, 592 from Vaud and 180 from Fribourg, who gave their precious time to this solidarity action. Their unwavering commitment has been the driving force behind this success. We would also like to extend our warmest thanks to the retailers and their teams who so brilliantly orchestrated the logistics of the event and opened their doors to volunteers over the two memorable days of 31 May and 1 June.
From this week, the food collected will be sent to the food banks, where it will be sorted, stored and redistributed to people in precarious situations through our partner associations and social services.
We are proud to announce that the next edition of Sharing Saturday is scheduled for 29 and 30 November 2024, to continue this incredible chain of solidarity.
Photo credit: Aurélien Fontanet
