‘You can vote with your feet if you want’. Users’ responses to religious services in the context of food charity in a Finnish city

Abstract

Drawing on an ethnographic study of the food charity venues in a Finnish city, the article explores how food assistance recipients respond to the religious services they are presented with when seeking material assistance from a religious organization. The study shows that the religious services integrated into the food delivery system are rarely directly criticized, but rather responded to favourably. Any criticism of them is expressed through tacit resistance. The reciprocal relationship between receiving food and participating in religious practice remains mostly implicit, the food recipients’ responses to the religious services being framed by the notion of choice, which undermines the possibility of open criticism of the integration of religious services into the food delivery programmes.

Lining up for charity

“…Instead, the findings show how they accommodated themselves to the situations and social roles available to them on a given occasion, which shows their ability to demonstrate agency from a constrained social position (cf. Salonen, 2016c).…”

“…", one interviewee stated, referring to a place that provided their clients a shared meal and a religious service in addition to the food bags. On the other side, the religious programmes can provoke negative emotions in those who dislike the religious contents (Sager and Stephens, 2005;Salonen, 2016c).…”

“…In 2013, breadlines were estimated to operate in over 220 municipalities throughout the country and to serve over 20,000 people on a weekly basis (Ohisalo, Eskelinen, Laine, Kainulainen and Saari, 2014). As in a number of other countries, many of the active food charity providers are faith-based organizations, churches and parishes, which often provide religious or spiritual support alongside the material aid (Ohisalo, Eskelinen, Laine, Kainulainen and Saari, 2014, p. 51; Salonen, 2016c, d).…”

“…The religious participation determined the access to the material assistance. However, the participants seldom described their attendance in the services with any reference to the reciprocal relationship between food and religion, but mostly acted as if the two had no connection (see Salonen, 2016d).…”

“…As in a number of other countries, many of the active food charity providers are faith-based organizations, churches and parishes, which often provide religious or spiritual support alongside the material aid (Ohisalo et al, 2014:51;Salonen, 2016b;Salonen, 2016c).…”