1 week ago 8

Norway: queues for Christmas aid reveal deepening poverty

Statistics show that food prices have risen by 33% over the last three years.

More and more Norwegians are facing increasing poverty. The impact can be seen in the increasingly long queues for Christmas aid from the Salvation Army.

According to the organisation's poverty index, one in five Norwegians is struggling to make ends meet. This week, the Salvation Army will be distributing boxes of Christmas food to 1,400 Norwegian families.

"I never thought I'd become someone who needed help in this way, so for me it's been a long journey. Just walking through the door," explains Tone Rose.

Rose is a certified public biomedical engineer and was once a donor to the Salvation Army herself. Due to illness, she now receives benefits herself.

After years of rising prices, more and more people are coming to the Salvation Army for help.

Most people who turn to the charity also receive benefits from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration. The organisation has appealed to the government.

"Subsistence rates are unreasonably low, and we can see that. Our queues are getting longer and more people need help. So the call to action is that welfare rates need to be increased," warns Elin Westby Herikstad, Deputy Director of Social Services.

This year, the financial difficulties encountered at Christmas are particularly hard on families with children.

Earlier this year, the Norwegian National Institute for Consumer Research published a report concluding that social assistance needed to be increased.