Applications for the government grant for food aid activities for 2027–2028 can be submitted between 13 October and 2 November 2026
An information event on the grant application process will be held via Teams on Monday 19 October 2026 from 16.00 to 17.00. The information event will cover the use of and criteria for the government grant, as well as how to use the related online service. Participants will also have an opportunity to ask questions of the grant coordinators. No advance registration is required for the event. Join the application information event here: Information event on applying for the government grant for food aid activities(Link leads to external service)
The aim of the grant is to support the conditions necessary for organising food aid activities, to strengthen goal-oriented cooperation between food aid operators, the City and other operators, and to reinforce food aid activities’ connection to and integration with local wellbeing work that promotes participation and reduces inequality, poverty, social exclusion and discrimination.
The government grant can be awarded to cover the essential costs of organising food distribution or meal activities based on donated and surplus food, such as facility costs, transport costs and the acquisition of materials and supplies. For a justified reason, the government grant can also be used, by decision of the government grant authority, to cover essential and minor staff costs and procurements related to food aid. The government grant may not be used to purchase food to be distributed as food aid.
The appropriation for food aid is a targeted government grant in accordance with Government Decree on Discretionary Government Grants for Food Aid Activities (541/2024). A municipality or wellbeing services county, acting as a project administrator, can apply for the grant via the government grant authority, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), on behalf of food aid operators within the wellbeing services county to cover the costs of organising food aid activities.
In Helsinki, the City of Helsinki acts as the project administrator for the grant. The City is responsible for overall food aid activities within its area and conveys the government grant to the co-implementers of food aid activities, i.e. the organisations and parishes providing food aid.
Nationally, a total of EUR 5.8 million is allocated to the grant for two years, of which EUR 2.9 million is conditional until the Parliament has approved the government budget for 2027. The share of the grant appropriation based on Helsinki’s population for two years amounts to a maximum of EUR 721,490 in total.
When allocating Helsinki’s share of the grant to eligible food aid operators, account is taken of the number of visitors to the activities, the nature of the activities and any supplementary activities. Part of the grant is reserved for covering project administration costs and the audit of the grant project required by the government grant authority. Part of the grant may be allocated to the operating costs of the regional logistics centre used.
The City’s general guidelines for grants are applied to the grant application process, unless otherwise specified in the terms and conditions of the government grant.
On the ‘Decisions’ page(Link leads to external service), you will find the decision on government grants awarded for food aid activities for 2025–2026 (in Finnish).
Terms and conditions of the grant
The government grant for food aid activities can be applied for by a non-profit community with legal capacity (organisation or parish) for food aid activities taking place in the Helsinki area.
A food aid operator receiving the grant must:
- have registered its food aid activities with the food control authority
- commit to equality and non-discrimination in its food aid activities
- comply with THL’s reporting obligations
- commit to compliance with the terms and conditions of the government grant and the City of Helsinki’s general grant conditions.
Furthermore, the food aid operator must both provide information about and report on its food aid activities via the national Ruoka-apu.fi online service for operators that organise food aid events and community meals. The food aid operator receiving the grant must undergo training in the use of the Ruoka-apu.fi service by the start of the 2027–2028 project period at the latest.
In addition to these requirements, the project administrator may, based on the project’s objectives and taking regional needs into account, set out further expectations for co-implementers. The project administrator will then select its group of co-implementers based on the fulfilment of these expectations.
The government grant is awarded to cover the essential costs of organising food aid activities, i.e. food distribution or meal activities based on surplus food:
- rental, electricity and fuel costs related to transport, storage and distribution
- food preparation costs
- the direct acquisition costs of materials, supplies and other similar products
- leasing and operating costs of refrigerated transport vehicles and distribution vehicles
- operating costs of regional logistics centres
- costs other than those listed in points 1–5 which are necessary to achieve the specified objective, such as necessary staff costs of the food distribution activities.
The grant may not be used to purchase food for redistribution, nor for religious or political activities.
The activities for which the grant is awarded may also include procurements. Examples of small or relatively small procurements related to the food aid activities for which the grant is awarded include refrigerators, freezers and refrigerated display cabinets. However, in exceptional circumstances, larger procurements may also be authorised by decision of the government aid authority, provided that they are deemed to constitute other necessary costs in accordance with point 6 above. Larger procurements require the government aid authority to verify the appropriateness of the procurement before it is carried out.
In justified cases, staff costs related to the practical implementation of food aid – such as the small-scale salaries of those involved in food distribution or the driver of a refrigerated vehicle – can also be deemed acceptable by decision of the government aid authority. However, the grant may not be used to cover salary costs related to the coordination or administration of the activities. Staff costs require more detailed reporting than other costs.
The grant usage period is 2027–2028. The food aid operator receiving the grant must organise its accounting in such a way that the use of the grant can be reliably monitored (e.g. by using a separate project number or cost centre for the costs covered by the grant). Once the grant usage period has ended, an audit is carried out on the grant project, which also involves inspecting the grant recipients’ accounts and activities related to the grant.
Application instructions and grant decision schedule
The application period for the government grant for food aid activities is from 13 October to 2 November 2026. The application deadline is 2 November 2026 at 16.00.
Unlike previously, applications for the grant must be submitted via the City of Helsinki’s online grant system. To log in to the system, you must use strong authentication in the suomi.fi service. The person filling out the grant application must have the authority to sign on behalf of the community or be authorised to act as its representative. After logging in, you must create an applicant profile in the system by adding the necessary details to your personal profile. You can save the application as a draft. Please note that attachments are not saved with the application draft. When the application is completed, you can submit it. More information: https://avustukset.hel.fi/en/instructions-for-applicants
Obligatory attachments to the application:
- rules of the community in the case of a new applicant or if this information has changed since the previous application
- annual report for 2025
- audit report or performance audit report for 2025
- verified, i.e. signed, profit and loss account and balance sheet for 2025
- signed minutes of the annual meeting held in 2026, which indicate the processing of the 2025 financial statements and the granting of discharge from liability
- verified action plan for 2027
- verified budget for 2027
- the bank’s statement on the owner of the account or an account statement copy.
If the applicant has applied for other City grants in 2026, there is no need to resubmit the same attachments.
THL will make its decisions on government grants in early 2027. After that, the City of Helsinki will decide on conveying the grant to the food aid operators that have applied for it.
Before the grant is paid out, the City will enter into an agreement with the operators provided with the grant regarding the use of the grant, as required by THL. The grant may be used once the City has issued its grant decision and the agreement has been signed. However, costs to be covered by the grant can already be designated from the start of 2027 onwards.
Enquiries:
Ari Haapanen
ari.haapanen@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)
+358 40 359 3790