By Aina Mizgirdė, Enrika Gecaitė, LRT TV, LRT.lt

Poverty levels have risen across Lithuania, particularly in more remote regions, with some municipalities seeing as many as one in three residents living in poverty. According to the Social Security and Labour Ministry, border areas face a higher risk, largely due to higher unemployment.

In the Akmenė district near the Latvian border, one in three people lives in poverty. Volunteers from the charity Maisto Bankas (Food Bank) say the queues are growing.

“There are many villages around here, and people in villages have always struggled. Jobs have been declining for a long time – there are fewer of them and not enough to go around,” said Marija Rudaitytė, a coordinator at the charity’s Akmenė branch.

“People come in from the villages, and one person told us they had to walk five kilometres to the bus stop and then travel for another half an hour just to reach us and collect their food,” she added.

Once every three months, people in need receive around five kilogrammes of food, including vegetables, fruit, grains, oil and canned goods.

Read more: LRT.LT