Open AccessFood aid in Poland in the years 2014-2019 as an expression of solidarity and European Union support for the national social assistance system
Author(s) -
Piotr Frączek
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
vuzf review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2534-9228
DOI - 10.38188/2534-9228.21.3.18
Subject(s) - european union , solidarity , poverty , social protection , economic growth , political science , business , development economics , economic policy , economics , politics , law
One of the goals of modern states is to strive for continuous economic development and ensure a high standard of living for their citizens. Social problems of too high intensity, existing in individual countries, may constitute a barrier to achieving this goal. One of the acute social problems in every country in the world is the phenomenon of poverty. The European Union and its member states undertake many measures to reduce poverty. One such activity was the creation of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), which aims to help the poorest by providing food. The program aimed to complement the policy of public authorities in the Member States and to supplement the existing forms of support in the social welfare system. In Poland, the implementation of FEAD has been planned for the years 2014-2020, and this program was a visible manifestation of European solidarity and significant support for the social assistance system. The article aims to identify the level of support that Poland received in 2014-2019 from the European Union under the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) and to identify trends and problems in the distribution of food products to the poorest people. The analyzes show that in 2014-2019 Poland received support from EU-FEAD of EUR 416.9 million, which allowed for the provision of almost 299 thousand. tons of food for the poorest. In 2019, as much as 76% of the total food provided to the poor was financed from European funds. In the period 2014-2019, there is a noticeable trend in Poland consisting in increasing the share of food aid from the EU for Poland for the purchase of food for the poorest. This is worrying as the end of the EU-funded FEAD program may result in a significant decrease in the number of poor people receiving support in the form of food aid in Poland. One of the main problems in the distribution of food was the insufficiently developed network of food distribution organizations and the presence of municipalities not covered by the food aid program.