Project to develop organisational coordination in food aid (2021–2022)
The Finnish Red Cross is developing food aid with several other organisations.
With the help of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the organisational coordination project will create an operating model based on organisational coordination and harmonise the field of food aid.
The organisational coordination model is based on the proposal of the report commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health from Socca – the Centre of Excellence on Social Welfare in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The activities will focus on developing organisational coordination and closer cooperation between all organisations and other operators.
The development project will produce an action plan for organisational coordination during 2022. Involved in the development work are the Church Resources Agency, Samaria, the Finnish Blue Ribbon, the Finnish National Organisation of the Unemployed and ViaDia, as well as several municipalities and parish unions.
A representative advisory board, composed of the above-mentioned organisations and other food aid operators, will also be set up to support the organisational coordination.
Why is the project needed?
The organisational coordination of food aid will develop activities such as the network of food waste terminals to provide the smallest operators, among others, with easy and safe access to food for distribution in the future.
The aim is also to support smaller operators in continuing their work, so that everyone’s work is coordinated and mutually supportive.
Another aim is to establish and maintain as good and comprehensive a picture as possible of food aid in the country as a whole. The Foodaid.fi network and website run by the Church Resources Agency plays an important role in this. The ruoka-apu.fi website shows upcoming food aid distribution points and provides a lot of information about food aid, among other things.
The Finnish Red Cross is also exploring how the services of the wellbeing services counties could support food aid recipients in the future. The Finnish Red Cross will not distribute any grants, and the food aid grants will continue to be distributed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
In 2022, grants can also be applied for under the ESF+ programme, more information on which will be available on the European Social Fund website in the spring (in Finnish).
