Helsinki food aid distribution ends after 30 years due to shortage of surplus supplies

Free food distribution in Helsinki’s Myllypuro district will end this week after nearly three decades, as local organisers no longer receive enough surplus food from stores to continue, Yle reports.

The final distribution by Myllypuron elintarvikeapu ry, a volunteer-run food aid group, took place on Tuesday, leaving residents in the eastern Helsinki neighbourhood without local access to free groceries. The nearest remaining food aid points will now be in Harju and Malmi, several kilometres away.

Long queues and growing need
On Friday morning, a line over half a kilometre long formed for the penultimate distribution, stretching from Liikuntamylly to the other side of Itäväylä. Many waiting in line expressed frustration over the closure, citing financial hardship.

Arto-Pekka Ahola, 65, a pensioner surviving on a small income, called the situation “difficult times” and criticised the current government. “The future doesn’t look good for us poor people,” he said. “Maybe things will improve if the government changes—hopefully within a year.” Ahola plans to seek help from Hursti, another aid organisation in Harju, where queues are expected to grow as former Myllypuro recipients turn there for support.

Volunteers and staff face uncertainty
Sinikka Backman, 79, the group’s director, has worked with the food aid initiative for nearly 30 years. She described the closure as a heavy blow, not only for recipients but for the team. “At least one staff member will have to move to cheaper housing. Another is retiring—on such a small pension, it’s impossible to get by here now,” she said.

The organisation employs nine part-time workers, most funded through subsidised wages, alongside nearly 20 volunteers. Backman had hoped the food aid could continue but acknowledged the lack of surplus supplies made it impossible.

Recipients include many with foreign backgrounds
An estimated 80 percent of those relying on Myllypuro’s food aid have immigrant backgrounds. Aleksej Tkatshev, who moved from St. Petersburg eight years ago, said his family—including five young children—would struggle without the support. His wife, a vocational student, is ineligible for basic social assistance. “It’ll be harder, but we’ll manage,” he said, adding that living in a free country was worth the challenge.

Helena Utriainen, a pensioner, compared the current economic strain to Finland’s 1990s recession. “It feels like we’re reliving the depression under this government,” she said. Despite her frustration, she planned to bring flowers to Backman on Tuesday as a gesture of gratitude. “She’s done incredible work here for years,” Utriainen said.

The closure leaves eastern Helsinki without a local free food distribution point, shifting the burden to fewer aid centres in the city.