crumbs at the bottom of the society – food aid at challenging times

UEF // University of Eastern Finland

A brief overview to the topic & the thesis

Poverty Group, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, 9th MayMaria Ohisalo

Crumbs at the bottom of the society – food aid at challenging times

UEF // University of Eastern Finland 01.05.2023Maria Ohisalo 2

A brief overview to the topic & the thesis

• About the work in Finland • The topic• The thesis• Discussion, thoughts, questions etc


About the work in Finland• Working on my thesis since 2013 in different projects:

– on organisation of food aid in Finland (N=171+N=20+photos)– on food aid recipients’ SWB at Finnish food aid (N=3474)– same collection also in Athens (N=500), Vilnius (N=558),

Budapest (N=200)– + Chicago (StreetWise) – now a project where social scientists, professional (+amateur)

photographers and journalists are combining their strengths (is Finland dividing, is inequality growing?)

• Thesis funding from different foundations • Professors Juho Saari and Mikko Niemelä as supervisors

– Saari has published a lot on welfare state, EU social policy, poverty

– Niemelä on poverty, social security, welfare attitudes

UEF // University of Eastern Finland 01.05.2023Name of the presentation / Author 4

Start slide with image, image size 230 x 68mm

The topic

Photo: Maria Ohisalo


Why is there a need to study food aid in a welfare state?1. According to international comparisons Finland does well,

according to major statistics majority of Finns do better than ever before – this is only one picture

2. The least well-off people of the welfare state are not shown in all surveys – Hard-to-survey -populations

3. Food aid as a breadline/food bank form has existed since the 1990’s recession – never went “off fashion”– not “official help”, responsibility on the 3rd sector (NGO’s, Churches etc.)


Hard-to-survey (H2S)-populations

• Roger Tourangeau (2014):

Hard-to-survey populations are those that create problems for one or more key survey operations

– Hard-to-sample (rare populations with no population - specific frame)

– Hard-to-identify (based on hidden or stigmatizing characteristics)

– Hard-to-find or contact (mobile populations; pop’s with access issues)

– Hard-to-persuade (resistant; alienated)– Hard-to-interview (language barriers)


Finnish Constitution on basic and minimum social security (Kela 2015; Tuori 2004)

• There is a legislative basis for the definitions of basic and minimum social security:

• According to the Constitution, Subsection 1, anyone who is not able to obtain the security needed for a life of dignity is entitled to necessary income and care, i.e., minimum social security.

– Guaranteeing minimum social security requires case-by-case means-testing and is guaranteed by last resort social assistance

• The Constitution (Section 19, Subsection 2) provides everyone with the right to basic social security, i.e., security of basic subsistence during unemployment, sickness, incapacity for work and old age, as well as due to the birth of a child or the loss of a caretaker.

• The interpretation of this statute has been that basic subsistence must be guaranteed in these life situations without income- or means-testing.

– Fighting the social risks• A general interpretation is that the level of basic social security must be higher

than the level of minimum social security outlined in Section 19 Subsection 1.


However…

01.05.2023Maria Ohisalo 8

• The ”poor aid” the universal welfare state was to fight against, still exists

• No-one measures (i.e. knows) the quantity, quality of food aid, the amount of food aid recipients, their well-being

• Depoliticization of the topic

• not a public responsibility

Photo: Tuomo Laihiala

UEF // University of Eastern Finland 01.05.2023Esityksen nimi / Tekijä 9

• Finnish food aid actors – roughly 400 around the country

• soup kitchens – (warm/cheap meals)

• breadlines• food banks• surplus food store (new)• warm meals distributed• other new innovations• + vouchers to stores from

social work, deaconess work

Picture: Ohisalo et al. 2013


Organization of food aid in Finland

Picture: Ohisalo 2016


The thesis

• Field experiment – survey (sample N=3474, 11 municipal., 7 parishes)

• Aswers: • 1. What is a 2010’s breadline in a welfare state? (Field)• 2. How are the people dependent on food aid doing (also

compared to larger society, other disadvantaged groups, other countries? (People)

– A comparative welfare state aspect: three welfare state models, how is food aid receivers’ SWB? Any differences between different welfare state models (Nordic, Mediterranean, Post-communist)?

– Life satisfaction, trust, coping, shame, use of services & benefits etc. asked


The thesis

• 1. article: Ohisalo Maria. 2013. The effect of the EU-food programme to the establishment of food aid in Finland. The well-being of the worst off in Finland (edit.) Mikko Niemelä Mikko & Juho Saari. (Finnish)

• 2. article: Ohisalo, Maria, Laihiala Tuomo & Saari, Juho. 2015. The worst off in the middle of a well-being society: Coping and well-being of the people going to breadlines and needle-exchange points. Finnish Journal of Theology. (Finnish)


The thesis

• 3. article: Ohisalo, Maria, Laihiala, Tuomo & Saari, Juho. 2015. Dimensions and accumulation of disadvantages in Finnish breadlines. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka (Society & Politics) Journal. (Finnish)

• 4. article: Ohisalo, Maria, Laihiala, Tuomo, Kouvo, Antti, Kahma, Nina & Saari, Juho. 2015. Subjective well-being at the Finnish, Greek and Lithuanian capitals’ breadlines. (In the making, in English)

• +summary


Poverty in Finland – some examples

• Prof. Saari: 100 000 people differ from the ”well-off”/well-being majority on their: quality of life, way of life & standard of living

• At-risk-of-poverty (household's disposable monetary income per consumption unit is below 60% of the national median income)

– does not tell anything about subjective well-being– does not picture the diversity of poverty in the least well-off

groups


Number of persons at-risk-of-poverty in different sections of the at-risk-of-poverty distribution by the person's age in 2013 (Statistics Finland 2015)

(population of Finland in 2013: 5 451 270)

01/05/2023Name of the presentation / Author 15

Income below 40% of median

Income 40% to 49% of median

Income 50% to 49% of median

All persons at-risk-of-poverty

All persons 130 000 170 000 390 000 690 000Aged 0 to 17 18 000 23 000 77 000 118 000

Aged 18 to 24 36 000 32 000 45 000 114 000

Aged 25 to 34 23 000 27 000 40 000 90 000

Aged 35 to 49 16 000 24 000 44 000 85 000

Aged 50 to 64 29 000 29 000 59 000 117 000

Aged 65 to 74 .. 11 000 46 000 58 000Aged 75 or over .. 24 000 79 000 108 000


Example: employment status (%) (Ohisalo &

Saari 2014)

Helsinki

Espoo

Tampere

Vantaa

Turku

Jyväskylä

Kuopio

Lahti

Pori

Mikkeli

Porvoo

EU-ruoka

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

6.3

8.2

6.6

5.0

9.2

10.1

7.7

5.8

5.4

3.9

6.2

10.2

34.7

28.9

33.3

43.9

38.0

43.8

54.7

39.4

42.8

33.8

32.0

36.3

46.8

47.9

46.0

38.3

36.0

34.4

32.6

45.2

23.9

28.5

51.5

37.6

3.4

7.1

4.6

3.3

9.9

5.9

2.0

1.9

11.6

18.9

1.0

4.6

6.6

3.6

6.9

6.7

5.0

4.2

2.3

5.2

4.3

10.3

4.1

6.9

2.1

4.3

2.6

2.8

2.0

1.7

0.7

2.6

12.0

4.6

5.2

4.6

At home Pensioner Unemployed or laid offStudent Working fixed term or part-time Working permanently


Example: hunger (%) (Ohisalo & Saari 2014)

Helsinki

Espoo

Tampere

Vantaa

Turku

Jyväskylä

Kuopio

Lahti

Pori

Mikkeli

Porvoo

EU-ruoka

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

45.0

42.1

44.9

43.0

37.4

51.6

43.6

40.6

42.0

57.8

35.4

44.3

29.3

35.5

35.1

33.1

39.1

29.2

36.7

32.3

32.1

26.3

37.4

37.0

17.4

19.0

15.4

14.0

15.2

12.8

13.5

15.8

13.9

10.7

21.2

15.5

8.3

3.4

4.6

9.9

8.3

6.4

6.2

11.3

12.0

5.2

6.1

3.3

Very rarely Sometimes Quite often Constantly


Example: Quality of life compared to other groups: 4-1:

constantly, quite often, sometimes, very rarely

(Ohisalo et al. 2015)

Physical health

Mental health

Life satisfaction

Standard of living 0

2

4

Finns in general Food aid Needle-exchange


Example: Social shame in three EU-capitals: (Ohisalo et al.

2016) I don’t want my neighbours or relatives to see me getting food aid.

Helsinki district

Vilnius

Athens

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

32.4

39.6

55.6

12.0

6.1

5.2

13.8

19.4

9.8

18.5

11.6

8.4

23.3

23.4

21.0

Fully disagree Partly disagree Neither agree nor disagree Partly agree Fully agree


Example: in three EU-capitals: I feel disadvantaged (Ohisalo et al. 2016)

Helsinki district

Vilnius

Athens

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

13.1

18.6

44.4

14.2

10

4.6

18.4

24.7

5.8

31.3

24.7

16

23.1

22

29.2

Fully disagree Partly disagree Neither agree nor disagree Partly agree Fully agree


In the making (Ohisalo et al. 2016) …• Levels of SWB are different i.e.:

– Athens: highest amount of people satisfied with mental and physical health, as well as depressed and lonely

– Helsinki: highest life satisfaction but highest amount of people feeling disadvantaged

– Vilnius: lowest satisfaction on standard of living and health

• The effect of socio-economic background:– In Helsinki well-being is relatively equally distributed by age– In Vilnius and Athens well-being decreases by age– In Vilnius living alone decreases well-being the most– In Helsinki there is a remarkable gender gap especially in health


Discussion, thoughts, questions etc.

Risks-based social security leaking to last-resort

social security

Housing costs especially in

larger cities

Lack of information, social security ”jungle”, shame etc. leading to

underuse of benefits


References• Kela (2015) The second expert group for evaluation of the adequacy of basic social security.

Adequacy of basic social security in Finland 2011–2015. KELA RESEARCH DEPARTMENT: https://www.julkari.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/126908/WorkingPapers80%20%281%29.pdf?sequence=1

• Ohisalo, Maria, Eskelinen, Niko, Laine, Jonna, Kainulainen, Sakari & Saari, Juho: Avun tilkkutäkki – suomalaisen ruoka-apukentän monimuotoisuus. Espoo: Raha-automaattiyhdistys, avustusosaston julkaisuja, 2013. https://www.ray.fi/sites/default/files/emmi_mediabank/Raportti_Avun_tilkkutakki_2014.pdf

• Ohisalo, Maria, Laihiala Tuomo & Saari, Juho (2015) The worst off in the middle of a well-being society: Coping and well-being of the people going to breadlines and needle-exchange points. Finnish Journal of Theology.

• Ohisalo, Maria & Saari, Juho (toim.) (2014) Kuka seisoo leipäjonossa? Ruoka-apu 2010-luvun Suomessa. Helsinki: Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiö, 2014. http://www.kaks.fi/sites/default/files/TutkJulk_83_net.pdf

• Roger Tourangeau (2014) Defining and Measuring Hard-to-Survey Populations. 2014 FCSM Statistical Policy Seminar: http://www.copafs.org/UserFiles/file/2014fcsm/01_TourangeauFCSM%202014.pdf

• Statistics Finland (2015) Risk of poverty especially burdens young adults http://www.stat.fi/til/tjt/2013/01/tjt_2013_01_2015-03-20_tie_001_en.html

• Tuori, Kaarlo (2014) Sosiaalioikeus. Helsinki: WSOY.

https://www.julkari.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/126908/WorkingPapers80%20%281%29.pdf?sequence=1




https://www.ray.fi/sites/default/files/emmi_mediabank/Raportti_Avun_tilkkutakki_2014.pdf

http://www.kaks.fi/sites/default/files/TutkJulk_83_net.pdf

http://www.copafs.org/UserFiles/file/2014fcsm/01_TourangeauFCSM%202014.pdf



http://www.stat.fi/til/tjt/2013/01/tjt_2013_01_2015-03-20_tie_001_en.html



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crumbs at the bottom of the society – food aid at challenging times

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