by Patrick Ekstrand, Fu Yiming
STOCKHOLM, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- As food prices continue to soar, more and more people in Sweden, a Nordic country known for its well-developed welfare system, are seeking help for daily food.
Since this spring, an increasing number of Swedes have found themselves struggling with sky-high food prices and seen no other option but to join charity schemes that offer free or highly discounted groceries.
Jonas Wihlstrand, secretary-general of the Swedish City Missions, told Xinhua recently that memberships of the social supermarkets run by the mission have doubled since this spring.
"Most of the new members are single parents on unemployment benefits, pensioners, and jobless youth," Wihlstrand said, adding that they would intensify efforts to help the most destitute as the staggering inflation sees no sign of ending anytime soon.
The Swedish City Missions offer food schemes in ten cities across the country. In the capital Stockholm alone, about 5,500 families and individuals have registered as new members at the four social supermarkets in the city's suburbs so far this year.
Membership at such social supermarkets is free for those with an income under the subsistence level, and it entitles them to a discount of at least two-thirds of the regular retail prices. Members can buy discounted groceries for up to 300 Swedish crowns (about 29 U.S. dollars) per week.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western sanctions against Russia and extreme weather conditions have continued to drive up inflation in Sweden, making life difficult for many Swedish families.
Sweden's 12-month inflation rate reached 8 percent in July, following record-breaking figures for four consecutive months, according to data published by Statistics Sweden on Friday. In particular, prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages continued to soar in July, registering a staggering 13.5-percent increase compared to July 2021.
Johan Rindevall, manager of all four social supermarkets in Stockholm, told Xinhua that most of the new members joined after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict when it became obvious that inflation was not only staggering but most likely also persistent.
Lately, the number of members has grown at an unprecedented rate, Rindevall said.
"Around 3,000 of our new members joined in the last two months," he said, adding that "this is an unparalleled increase that we haven't seen since our first shops were launched in 2015."
To cope with the increasing demand, two of the four social supermarkets in Stockholm were opened earlier this year, and a fifth shop will be launched in the capital city in September.
"Many of the members talk about the inflation and worries for the future when visiting our shops," Rindevall said.
The City Mission in Eskilstuna, a city 90 km west of Stockholm, has also seen an increasing demand for food support. Applications for the mission's membership have been so high that the mission has had to turn away many families in the last few months due to financial difficulty.
"Groceries have become increasingly expensive due to inflation, and when schools closed for the summer holiday, many families realized they could not make ends meet as their children all of a sudden did not get free school lunch," Carina Helmisdotter, team leader at Eskilstuna's City Mission told Xinhua.
"We are only capable of relieving the most acute needs," Helmisdotter said.
Wihlstrand said he worries about worsening food poverty and widening gaps between the rich and poor with the surging inflation.
"The Swedish economy may have developed tremendously over the last three decades, but we have also seen the gap between those who are rich and those who are poor widen. I believe that Sweden is one of the countries in Europe where this inequality is increasing the most," Wihlstrand said.
He said he believes the current situation will likely prevail for many years as "the cost of living is increasing while incomes fall behind." (1 Swedish crown = 0.096 U.S. dollars) ■
