Preparing to retire, Marja Palkonen has been the director of a food bank in Tampere since 2019.
Run by Evangelical Lutheran congregations, the charity handed out food parcels around 70,000 times to people in the city in 2019.
Last year, the organisation's pickup spots handed out food aid a total of 178,401 times — a roughly 150-percent increase.
She spent part of her penultimate week as the food bank's managing director alongside Finnish Red Cross volunteers at the Hervanta Church, distributing bags of groceries to people in the queue.
When Yle recently met with her, there were 200 people waiting in line. They included young adults, families with children, the elderly and a good number of immigrants — particularly ones from Ukraine.
During her time at the organisation, Palkonen said she has heard many stories that taught her about life's uncertainties.
"I've met so many people who had their own businesses, houses, and families. Everything was fine and then suddenly the person had nothing," she explained.
The operation is no longer able to rely on donated food alone, and it also buys the food it hands out.
Last year, companies and private individuals donated nearly 150,000 euros to the organisation — it also receives funding from the City of Tampere.
In 2025, the food bank spent around 400,000 on items that it hands out.
"I'm grateful for all our donors and partners," Palkonen
When she started, Palkonen said she wanted to modernise the charity and renew its operations.
"We wanted to give bigger bags of food to people, prevent food waste, and put food to good use," she explained.
"Now, in terms of charity, we need to come up with new ideas. We can't really influence the decisions politicians make," she said, referring to government cuts to social and unemployment benefits.
Palkanen will retire on Thursday, 29 January, while her post will be filled by Tanja Lähteenmäki.
The food bank marked its 30th anniversary last year. Under Palkonen's leadership, its operations have expanded and become more professional. The food bank uses a large logistics centre in the Nekala neighbourhood, through which all of the distributed foods are delivered.
The food it donates is edible food waste sourced from supermarkets, manufacturers and professional kitchens. The food bank operates two dozen pickup points across Tampere.
