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 ahead.
Several hundred more families need to be supported in other ways due to a lack of resources in the face of excessive demand.
“Unfortunately we had more than 500 inquiries this year. We have made the heartbreaking decision not to reduce the number of baskets and support our usual 200 families,” said Roseline Roussel, the organization’s general director on the occasion of Operation Christmas Baskets.
Photo credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
She also states that this is a “big increase” of around 35% compared to last year, when almost a hundred people had to find another solution.
“The greatest gift I could have received”
Despite the current extremely difficult times for many, Christine Tremblay was all smiles when she saw the PQ MP for Jean-Talon, Pascal Paradis, deliver her Christmas basket.
Photo credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
“It really is a beautiful day. I'll have peace of mind over the holidays and we won't be wondering what we'll have for dinner in the coming weeks. It’s really the best gift I could have given,” says Christine Tremblay, accompanied by her son Olivier.
“We are really grateful because everything costs more. I moved to a rental in November that cost me $400 more per month, but I had no choice because that was all that was left. With the grocery store also increasing, the end of the month is not easy,” she added.
A worrying situation
While inflation and rising interest rates have recently pushed many people below the poverty line, forcing them to turn to aid organizations to survive, Roseline Roussel says Le Pignon Bleu is extremely concerned about the situation.
“Right now I would say that more than 50% of the people asking for our help are workers who are working 40 hours a week for less pay and just can't do it anymore,” he explains.
Roseline Roussel, General Director of Pignon Bleu / Photo credit: Nicolas St-Pierre
“The cost of food has risen extremely and it is very worrying to see that working families are increasingly demanding our support,” adds the organization’s director general.
“There are structural problems 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 precarious situations and people with jobs who have difficulty filling their refrigerators. This simply does not make common sense,” commented MP Pascal Paradis, a loyal volunteer of Operation Pignon Bleu Christmas Baskets for several years.
Photo credit: Nicolas St-Pierre