On Tuesday, the French charity Restos du Cœur announced that they had distributed over 1 million free meals between January and October 2022. As a result, they will be holding a demonstration in the city centre of Brussels on Wednesday, both to draw attention to their cause and to commemorate their 37th anniversary.
The Belgian Federation of Restos du Cœur, a network of organisations run by a French food charity, announced on Tuesday that they had distributed over 1 million free meals in Belgium from January until October of this year.
These figures come as a result of the various crises that have beset Belgium in 2022, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent war have generated an energy crisis and higher prices, which has heavily impacted Belgian households' wallets.
To that end, the organisation's president Jean-Gérard Closset commented in a press release that these figures show "a steadily increasing demand for food aid" despite having distributed 8% less free meals in June 2022 compared to the previous year. "We are therefore far from the 670,000 meals distributed in 2019," Closset stated, using the final year before the pandemic as a reference point.
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As a result, the Restos du Cœur will be drawing attention to their cause on Wednesday, 21 December, as they celebrate their 37th anniversary in Belgium. A demonstration is set to take place at 10:30 between the Grand Place in Brussels and the Manneken-Pis statue.
Furthermore, the charity will be launching their Yuletide "Festive menu for all" campaign for the third year in a row.
