Project to develop food aid activities in Finland to continue
We strive to clarify the division of labour in food aid, streamline the use of resources and develop preparedness, readiness and cooperation with authorities in 2024–2026.
Many people in Finland need food aid, and the overall need for food aid is on the rise. At the same time, the amount of donated and surplus food is decreasing. This equation makes providing food aid challenging.
In Finland, more than 1,000 operators currently provide food aid, mainly as volunteer work.
The objective of the project to develop organisational coordination in food aid (2024–2026) is to make the cooperation between organisations providing food aid closer and develop food aid in cooperation with umbrella organisations and authorities. The project is funded by the Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations STEA.
The objective is to have regional and local food aid networks clarify their division of labour, streamline the use of resources and develop preparedness, readiness and cooperation with authorities.
The organisations involved in the development project collect current situation reports that help to develop food aid activities.
Coordination to support the opportunities of operators offering food aid to continue their work
Functional food aid relies on a sustainable structure. The hope is that cooperation between municipalities, organisations and wellbeing services counties could create a harmonious entity providing food aid.
“We need more cooperation between food aid operators and authorities. It would, for example, be beneficial to increase outreach social work as part of food aid,” project coordinator Niklas Vaalgamaa says.
The objective of the cooperation is to support the food aid operators’ opportunities of continuing their work and support all players, no matter their size.
Survey: almost a quarter of Finnish municipalities lack food aid activities
The current project is a continuation of the project to develop organisational coordination in food aid (2021–2022) funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. In 2021–2023, the project surveyed the needs and hopes in the food aid branch and the current status of food aid in Finland as well as developed cooperation between different operators.
Both projects are based on a proposal concerning the organisational coordination model in a report (in Finnish) commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health from Socca, the Centre of Excellence on Social Welfare in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
An earlier phase of the project yielded e.g. a report on the current status and future of the food aid branch (in Finnish) produced in 2022 and a municipal survey (in Finnish).
The survey showed that nearly a quarter of Finnish municipalities lack food aid activities.
The objective of the continuing project is to create nationally coordinated network cooperation as well as share information and best practices to improve the quality and accessibility of food aid.
The Church Resources Agency / ruoka-apu.fi, Sininauhaliitto, the Finnish National Organisation of the Unemployed, ViaDia, the Church Council, Koa ry, the Pentecostal Church of Finland, Vantaan Yhteinen Pöytä, Stadin Safka, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, STEA, Finnish Food Authority and National Institute for Health and Welfare are involved in the development work. The operators mentioned above form the sustainable food aid development group coordinated by the project, which convenes twice a year and serves as the cooperation network between food aid umbrella organisations and the authorities.
