More and more Netherlands residents can’t afford food: Red Cross
Five years after the Dutch Red Cross began providing domestic food aid, the organization is unable to reduce its assistance efforts. Instead, rising inflation has caused an increasing number of people to seek help through grocery vouchers. “Poverty is deepening,” said Harm Goossens, director of the Dutch Red Cross.
Recent reports from the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) and Statistics Netherlands (CBS) support this conclusion. While the number of people living below the poverty line is decreasing, the CPB reports that the intensity of poverty among those remaining is increasing. The CBS also notes the growing severity of poverty.
Research commissioned by the Red Cross found that over 450,000 people in the Netherlands experience food insecurity. The Red Cross currently spends 6.5 million euros annually distributing grocery vouchers valued at 21.50 euros per week over several months. This figure excludes around 30,000 parents who receive similar vouchers via schools to buy lunches or extra meals for their children every other week.
Despite funding from subsidies and donations, the aid is far from sufficient to assist all who qualify. According to the Red Cross, they could easily double their spending if resources allowed.
The organization’s food aid started during the COVID-19 pandemic, targeting people who had fallen through the cracks of government support, such as taxi drivers and cleaners. Over time, the profile of recipients has shifted. Increasingly, Eastern European labor migrants who lost their jobs and working single parents facing chronic debt find themselves without money for food. “Some mothers call us in panic because only a carton of milk remains in their refrigerator,” Goossens said.
Many eligible people do not apply for government allowances or municipal aid, often due to mistrust of the government following the childcare benefits scandal, shame about their situation, or the complexity and opacity of the aid programs. The Red Cross calls for these government programs to be more accessible. “If this continues, we wonder whether we will ever be able to scale back food aid,” Goossens said.
The form of assistance has also changed since the start. Food packages have been replaced by digital grocery vouchers, allowing recipients to choose their own food in supermarkets. “It restores a certain dignity,” Goossens noted.
Vouchers are distributed through neighborhood centers and local initiatives, which have better access to low-income residents than municipalities and can reach those reluctant to visit food banks.
Word of mouth has increased awareness of the grocery vouchers. Last year, 5,000 people called the Red Cross helpdesk set up for food aid distribution, often sharing “heartbreaking stories,” according to Goossens.
The goal is for families to rely on grocery vouchers for no longer than three to six months. During that time, more permanent solutions should be found via food banks or municipal support. However, the Red Cross observes that this often fails due to language barriers or distrust of authorities.
