In order to meet the needs of Ukrainian refugees until they are taken into care by the Hospice Général, Partage has organised to make and distribute more than 200 additional shopping bags per week to cover basic necessities.
On 21 March, Marc Nobs, Director of the Fondation Partage, spoke on Radio Lac about this food aid and the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on the food bank’s activities.
At the time, he mentioned the supply problems for certain products (flour, oil, etc.) due to rising prices, and even stock-outs, at a time when Partage once again finds itself on the front line with the increasing need for food aid in Geneva.
There are a number of reasons for these price rises and supply difficulties. While the damage to supply chains caused by the Covid-19 crisis is still being felt, the global dependence of certain raw materials on Ukraine and Russia is not only influencing food prices, but also increasing transport costs, which is having a twofold impact on our food bank business. We are also facing rising transport costs, even though we deliver to all our partner institutions free of charge.
Almost three weeks after Mr Nobs spoke on Radio Lac, the situation is not improving: while Partage buys more than half of the food supplied for emergency food aid, the prices of certain products (pasta, flour, rice, oil, oats) are soaring that the food bank is struggling to replenish some of its stocks.
This situation is all the more worrying given that the increase in the price of basic necessities is having a major impact on people in precarious economic situations, and could therefore increase their needs.
These concerns are unfortunately confirmed by the trend observed within the food bank: while at the beginning of the year we were hoping for a drop in the number of people in need, in recent weeks we have increased the number of shopping bags distributed again, attesting to the growing need.
We are therefore preparing ourselves for even greater consequences, by anticipating, where possible, the replacement of certain foodstuffs by others, to compensate for the current economic situation.
Against this backdrop, the twice-yearly Sharing Saturday food collection and any financial support for purchases become all the more essential. Thank you very much for your commitment.