2023-12-23 21:19:10
With Christmas less than two days away, Le Pignon Bleu donated $200,000 worth of food and gifts to 200 families in Quebec on Saturday, giving them peace of mind for the weeks to come.
A few hundred other families will have to be helped in other ways, due to lack of resources in the face of excessive demand.
“Unfortunately, we had more than 500 requests this year. We made the heartbreaking choice not to reduce the baskets and to support our usual 200 families,” says Roseline Roussel, general director of the organization on the occasion of Operation Christmas Baskets.
Credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
She also specifies that this is a “major increase” of around 35% compared to last year, when nearly a hundred had to find another solution.
“The greatest gift I could receive”
Despite the current period which is extremely difficult for many, Christine Tremblay was smiling from ear to ear when she saw the PQ MP for Jean-Talon, Pascal Paradis delivering her Christmas basket.
Credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
“It’s really a beautiful day. I’ll have peace of mind for the holiday season, and we won’t be wondering what we’re going to have for dinner in the coming weeks. It’s really the best gift I could have,” says Christine Tremblay in the company of her son Olivier.
“We are really grateful because everything costs more. I moved in November to a rent that cost me $400 more per month, but I had no choice because that’s all that was left, so with the grocery store also going up, the ends of the month are not easy,” she added.
A worrying situation
While inflation and rising interest rates have pushed many people below the poverty line recently, forcing them to turn to support organizations to survive, Roseline Roussel specifies that Le Pignon Bleu is extremely concerned by the situation.
“At the moment, I would say that there are more than 50% of the people who ask for our help who are workers working 40 hours a week with lower wages and who simply cannot do it anymore,” he explains. She.
Roseline Roussel, general director of Pignon Bleu / Credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
“The cost of food has increased extremely and it is very worrying to know that working families are demanding our support more and more,” adds the general director of the organization.
“There are structural issues in our economy that we really need to work on. At a time when there are more and more super-rich and super-profitable people, there are also more and more people in vulnerable situations and people with jobs who are struggling to fill their fridge. It simply doesn’t make common sense,” commented MP Pascal Paradis, a loyal volunteer for Operation Pignon Bleu Christmas Baskets for several years.
Credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
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