Eldritch
04-30-2010, 08:30 AM
http://yle.fi/ecepic/archive/00305/leip_jono_helsinki__305275b.jpg
The downturn is forcing more people into bread lines in Finland.The needy often include youth, immigrants and the unemployed.
The bread line in the Kallio district of Helsinki has been shorter than usual this April. But that's only because recent labour action in the food industry has resulted in sparse food supplies.
On an average food distribution day, the bread queue can stretch for blocks. Like the recession of the 1990s, this current economic crisis has seen a rush of needy.
Jouko Karjalainen, a researcher at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, estimates that the number of people queuing for food in the capital region has risen by several hundred a week since the downturn. He adds that food banks run by churches have upped their handouts by about 25 percent.
Bread lines rely on the generosity of grocery stores. However, churches mainly get help from the EU. This year, Finland's churches will distribute nearly three million kilos of EU-funded food. That's 500,000 more kilos than last year.
The economic downturn has hit immigrants particularly hard. They make up around half of those queuing for bread. Young people are also more often seen waiting for food.
Link. (http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/04/more_needy_stand_in_line_for_bread_1645368.html)
The downturn is forcing more people into bread lines in Finland.The needy often include youth, immigrants and the unemployed.
The bread line in the Kallio district of Helsinki has been shorter than usual this April. But that's only because recent labour action in the food industry has resulted in sparse food supplies.
On an average food distribution day, the bread queue can stretch for blocks. Like the recession of the 1990s, this current economic crisis has seen a rush of needy.
Jouko Karjalainen, a researcher at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, estimates that the number of people queuing for food in the capital region has risen by several hundred a week since the downturn. He adds that food banks run by churches have upped their handouts by about 25 percent.
Bread lines rely on the generosity of grocery stores. However, churches mainly get help from the EU. This year, Finland's churches will distribute nearly three million kilos of EU-funded food. That's 500,000 more kilos than last year.
The economic downturn has hit immigrants particularly hard. They make up around half of those queuing for bread. Young people are also more often seen waiting for food.
Link. (http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/04/more_needy_stand_in_line_for_bread_1645368.html)