A growing number of elderly people are becoming more dependent on food aid provided, for example, by the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The elderly are looking to the church when help from elsewhere in society is not forthcoming. The guarantee pension from the state is only available for people whose pre-tax pension income is less than 707 euros per month. Often it is inadequate to help the elderly make ends meet.
Last year the Evangelical Lutheran Church provided direct financial aid either in the form of food coupons or cash to the tune of 7.5 million euros.
The number of elderly people seeking church aid has been steadily increasing since 2007. Around 42 percent of those seeking help from the church are pensioners.