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The Growth of Food Aid in Sweden – How Demand and Supply are Transforming Charitable Organisations

Vamstad, Johan ; Leo Sandberg, Elinn LU orcid and Angelin, Anna LU (2024) In Nonprofit Policy Forum p.1-21
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to describe and analyse the growth in food aid in Sweden, and how it affects the non-profit organisations providing it. The particular type of food aid in focus is large-scale collaborations between charitable non-profit organisations and the food industry, through which food surplus is turned into food aid for people in food insecurity. The first examples of such food aid emerged less than 10 years ago in Sweden, but it has since experienced a dramatic growth. The development in Sweden follows a pattern known from many other European countries, with the exception that it is going faster, as if Sweden is catching up. This makes food aid in Sweden an interesting case for an empirical study. The article is... (More)
The purpose of this article is to describe and analyse the growth in food aid in Sweden, and how it affects the non-profit organisations providing it. The particular type of food aid in focus is large-scale collaborations between charitable non-profit organisations and the food industry, through which food surplus is turned into food aid for people in food insecurity. The first examples of such food aid emerged less than 10 years ago in Sweden, but it has since experienced a dramatic growth. The development in Sweden follows a pattern known from many other European countries, with the exception that it is going faster, as if Sweden is catching up. This makes food aid in Sweden an interesting case for an empirical study. The article is based on an interview study performed in 2022. Staff and managers at two large, national organisations were interviewed about how the rapid growth in food aid has affected their work and the institutional logics of their organisations. They also provided their thoughts on the role of food aid in Swedish society. One of the main findings is that the growth in food aid bring both the benefit of more people in need receiving help, and the challenge of strain as well as concerns regarding ethics and mission drift in the organisations. Another finding is that the growth is driven by both a growth in demand for food aid, but also by a growth in supply of food from the charities and their corporate partnerships. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
alternative title
Tillväxten av mathjälp i Sverige – Hur efterfrågan och utbud förändrar välgörenhetsorganisationer
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
mathjälp, välgörenhet, sverige, organisation, medarbetare, professionella, fattigdom, utveckling, food donation, food assistance, food charity, Sweden, Charity, philantropy, poverty, Professionals perspective
in
Nonprofit Policy Forum
pages
21 pages
publisher
De Gruyter
external identifiers
  • scopus:85205930068
ISSN
2194-6035
DOI
10.1515/npf-2023-0090
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
40260297-d02c-449a-93c0-b97c18af078c
date added to LUP
2024-10-02 19:20:56
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:38:37
@article{40260297-d02c-449a-93c0-b97c18af078c,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this article is to describe and analyse the growth in food aid in Sweden, and how it affects the non-profit organisations providing it. The particular type of food aid in focus is large-scale collaborations between charitable non-profit organisations and the food industry, through which food surplus is turned into food aid for people in food insecurity. The first examples of such food aid emerged less than 10 years ago in Sweden, but it has since experienced a dramatic growth. The development in Sweden follows a pattern known from many other European countries, with the exception that it is going faster, as if Sweden is catching up. This makes food aid in Sweden an interesting case for an empirical study. The article is based on an interview study performed in 2022. Staff and managers at two large, national organisations were interviewed about how the rapid growth in food aid has affected their work and the institutional logics of their organisations. They also provided their thoughts on the role of food aid in Swedish society. One of the main findings is that the growth in food aid bring both the benefit of more people in need receiving help, and the challenge of strain as well as concerns regarding ethics and mission drift in the organisations. Another finding is that the growth is driven by both a growth in demand for food aid, but also by a growth in supply of food from the charities and their corporate partnerships.}},
  author       = {{Vamstad, Johan and Leo Sandberg, Elinn and Angelin, Anna}},
  issn         = {{2194-6035}},
  keywords     = {{mathjälp; välgörenhet; sverige; organisation; medarbetare; professionella; fattigdom; utveckling; food donation; food assistance; food charity; Sweden; Charity; philantropy; poverty; Professionals perspective}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  pages        = {{1--21}},
  publisher    = {{De Gruyter}},
  series       = {{Nonprofit Policy Forum}},
  title        = {{The Growth of Food Aid in Sweden – How Demand and Supply are Transforming Charitable Organisations}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/npf-2023-0090}},
  doi          = {{10.1515/npf-2023-0090}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}