Due to austerity measures in Latvia, people with low-income status will not longer receive free food packages starting with next year. However, these free food parcels will remain available only to poor people and Latvian residents and Ukrainian refugees in need of emergency aid, as reported by the Ministry of Welfare.
According to the ministry’s report, this decision was made due to shortage of funds in the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) programme for support of low-income people. Changes provide for narrowing the range of recipients of free food parcels to poor households and people in an emergency situation, including Ukrainian refugees.
The status of low-income person shall be granted if the monthly income of the first or only person in the household does not exceed EUR 411, while for each subsequent person in the household – EUR 288. In its turn, the income threshold of a needy household for the first or only person in the household is EUR 343, but for other persons – EUR 240.
The Ministry of Welfare notes that the costs of the purchase of food aid accounts for 87% of all total expenditures on the purchase of support in the ESF+ programme. Therefore, a significant optimisation of costs is possible only on the food expenditure side. Other types of support – hygiene, household, food, children’s hygiene and educational supplies – have little financial impact, so these types of support are not reviewed, the ministry assures.
The Ministry of Welfare points out that in the EU programme for the 2021 programming period 2027, the welfare sector has been allocated 22% less funding than in the 2014-2020 period. The total reduction amounts to EUR 101.2 million.
The current available financing in ESF+ is EUR 18 196 193. According to the ministry’s estimates, this should be enough until June 2025.
In order to be able to continue providing food aid and basic material assistance to low-income and crisis-stricken residents of Latvia and Ukraine until the end of next year, the additional necessary funding for the provision of support is EUR 8.1 million. In total, by 2029, this amount could be EUR 71 million.
Data compiled by the ministry shows that this year the number of all eligible persons has been around 55 000 each month, reaching as many as 60 000 during the winter period. Trends suggest that this number will not change in the near future. At the same time, the ministry predicts an increase in the number of first-time arrivals of Ukraine from 6 000 to 10 000. Some of them could also qualify for support for the poor.
From 2021 to 2023, the amount of food aid parcels distributed to the most underprivileged residents of Latvia exceeded 400 000 parcels per year. In addition, in 2022 and 2023, more than 153 000 food parcels were distributed to refugees from Ukraine.
Meanwhile, this year’s actual expenditure on aid has so far been EUR 7.84 million. Based on this data, the total expected expenditure on support this year could be around EUR 16 million.
The content of the food parcels has been optimised. This means their prices is down by 4.2% – from EUR 26.47 to EUR 25.37.
It was previously reported that starting with next year, by changing the amount of food aid, residents with low-income status will receive one set of groceries per quarter instead of the previous two sets.
As LETA was told by a representative of the Social Integration Fund (SIF) Ilze Sarkanābola, currently, support packages are received by families or persons living separately who correspond to the status of a poor household, who are in a crisis situation, or who correspond to the status of a low-income household.
Support packages include grocery sets, sets of hygiene and household goods, grocery sets for young children (two types depending on the age of the child), sets of hygiene products for young children (four types depending on the age of the child), as well as sets of school supplies for children aged five to 16 years.
Director of SIF Secretariat Zaiga Pūce previously said the end of EU funds for the distribution of food and hygiene packages to the underprivileged is fast approaching. According to her, if a decision on the allocation of funding is not made soon, then the procurement process will be delayed.
Pūce previously said that if the number of free food parcel recipients is lowered, it will affect approximately 10 000 people.