Rising Food Insecurity: Growing Need for Food Assistance and Social Services

– I would struggle so much without the offers from the Church’s City Mission, and then I especially think of food, counseling and the social, says Trude Johansen (46).

When needed, she is one of the new people queuing outside the Church’s City Mission to get free food bags.

Two years ago, she wasn’t someone who needed to get free food, that only happened after corona and expensive times.

– There are completely ordinary people who come. People you think come from decent backgrounds, says Trond Henriksen, head of department in the Church’s City Mission in Halden.

There are three times more people standing in the food queue now than before the pandemic, he says.

– What you see here is only the tip of the iceberg.

Today there is a Christmas buffet in the cafe of Kirkes Bymisjon in Halden. Trude Johansen sits at the permanent table and waits for the food from chef Ida to be ready.

– Ida makes incredibly good food and baked goods.

She eagerly tells that they have become a group of friends who make use of the services offered by the Church’s City Mission. The social has become as important as the food.

– All kinds of people come here, she says.

They talk about how the coffee here is so good, and so cheap.

Trude goes to the cafe on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and usually collects food bags on Tuesdays.

– I am so happy to have something to go to, and the days became something else entirely, when she started going to the Church’s City Mission.

She is not alone in feeling more expensive times.

56 per cent feel they have received worse advice in the past year, shows figures Norstat has collected on behalf of Frende Forsikring.

The number of people receiving financial social assistance has increased by 16 per cent in the past year, a new study shows NAV survey.

Among the new recipients, the majority are Ukrainian refugees, but there are also several others families with children and young people.

The food queues are longer

– I will be honest and admit that Tuesday morning is the most difficult part of my working day, Henriksen from Kirkens Bymisjon.

– I sometimes walk around the queue in the morning, it reminds me of my childhood.

He grew up on the eastern edge of Oslo.

The people outside the old train station in Halden come from Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg, Syria and Ukraine, among other places.

Tired faces peer into the small door window of the Bymissionen cafe, before the battle to get food bags begins.

It is not enough for everyone.

Several have taken the bus early and stood outside in the cold for an hour to be first in line.

– It is terribly sad to see the desperate people, almost like a pack of hungry wolves just waiting for food, says Trond Henriksen.

The food bags disappear quickly.

– Poverty has taken on many new faces, says Henriksen.

– They can be quite wealthy people. When interest rates go up and people were already at the limit, the facade crumbles.

Most of the food distribution services notice a growing need for food assistance. Those who distribute food put the increased demand in the context of inflation and increased costs, writes Fafo, institute for working life and welfare research, in a recent report.

The report points out, among other things, that the food queues weaken trust in the public welfare policy. Not only the trust among the disadvantaged, but also in the rest of the population.

– We humans all need help in one way or another in life, and there is no shame in asking for help, says Henriksen.

One in three comes from families with children

Eighty percent of those who are here are dependent on NAV benefits, says Trond.

– Then it is permissible to ask questions about whether the social security benefits are too low.

One in three who come are families with children, adds Trond.

– It hurts extra when children don’t get what they need and want.

Poverty only creates alienation, he says.

– I don’t think the politicians have sufficient knowledge of people who are struggling. They can’t imagine it and live in safe surroundings with their million-dollar salary. Then you might pay less attention to it.

The cafe is full of new faces warming up before the next food delivery starts.

– Everything has become more expensive. More people are coming, and thus less food, says Tony Jensen as he fills a bag as if he is going to set a record for filling bags in the shortest possible time.

During the year, the Kirkens Bymisjon Halden distributes fifty tonnes of food in addition to free meals.

Tony talks about familiar old faces who stay at home because they cannot stand in the food queue for many hours.

– Sometimes there is an argument about who is first.

An electric, red wheelchair with stickers makes its way through the crowd. The driver is a familiar face to many in the cafe.

– I arrive a little late on Tuesdays because I can’t stand in the queue, says Mona Winger (62).

Mona is paralyzed in one leg. She has had multiple illnesses ever since she was three, including asthma, diabetes and epilepsy.

She has been in the Bymisjon milieu for ten years. Bymisjon is the first place she came to when she moved to Halden.

– It’s fixed inventory, and it’s me. It’s cozy. Then it’s hello when you come and hello when you leave, says a smiling 63-year-old with a twinkle in his eyes.

She just got the menu for this week. She shows off the black bag with joy.

– Then we got such delicious skimmed milk, then I can bake. Let’s see if there’s anything more exciting up here.

Old tired hands dig deeper into the surprise bag.

– It’s butter, salad and potatoes. Yellow potatoes are extra good. There will also be grapes on me and the parrot.

That’s all for the new week, in addition to three free meals in the Bymisjon cafe.

– This is almost like a Christmas present, this. I get a Christmas present once a week, I think that’s so great.

– When Sunday comes, it’s only two days until Tuesday, right? It’s a bit pleasant.

Mona mostly bakes at home.

– There is not much in it. Two tablespoons of sugar, wheat flour, rye flour and a little oatmeal. It tastes much better than in the bread shop, and it fills you up.

They don’t often get flour and sugar in the surprise bags, since the cafe also needs something to bake. Then it will be a trip to cross-border trade.

She uses a social security taxi to drive to Sweden to buy cheaper food when the social security is paid out.

– It is a shame that everything has become so terribly expensive, and social security does not go up at the same rate as the prices. It doesn’t, you know.

Laundry and care products are also not something you can expect in the food bags.

– I found something clever in Sweden. Three-in-one shampoo. It’s really for babies, but I figured if babies can use it, so can I.

– I generally have a very good mood and am solution-oriented. You have to be happy with what you have and try to make the best of it. I don’t want to be depressed. It only makes the situation worse.

She displays the recliners at home with pride and picks up the remote control to play reggae music as she takes a sip of her soda.

– This is how I can enjoy myself.

Soft drinks are not in short supply at home. The fridge is full of Coke bottles, or rather, almost only Coke bottles, to put it correctly.

– I save everything for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Then I’ll enjoy myself.

Together with Peppa the parrot.

The white parrot does not fail to greet visitors. He has been her close friend for over 35 years.

The table is already covered with Christmas cloth. The lights are in place. Soon it will be a joyful Christmas.

– Now I have received two turkey fillets in advance. There will be Christmas dinner, and there will be New Year’s dinner.

She sits alone on Christmas Eve. She has done that 21 times in the last 25 years.

– Since I am alone, I buy gifts, from me to myself.

At Trude’s home, the dog gets caviar, while she talks about Christmas presents.

– I buy next year’s Christmas presents at room Christmas sales and there is a lot to save on that.

.

Trude Johansen dreads January every year because then she has to pay the doctor’s deductible.

– I have to make sure I get a doctor’s appointment when I have money for the deductible. And then I buy Christmas presents at rum Christmas sales the year before to afford presents for everyone.

2023-12-17 21:53:34


#Poverty #faces