The Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) helps to alleviate the worst forms of poverty in the EU such as food deprivation, child poverty and homelessness.

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On average, it supported 12.7 million people per year between 2014 and 2017. 

The Commission adopted a summary report on the implementation of the FEAD in 2017 based on the reports submitted by the Member States. In 2017, 26 Member States delivered assistance under FEAD, which represents substantial progress on the previous year. As shown by the recently published mid-term evaluation, the Fund is coherent with and complementary to national poverty alleviation and EU Funds.

For the first time, the report features the views of those receiving the food and basic material assistance of the Fund. Around 97% of respondents in the structured survey stated that it had made a difference or partial difference to them. The surveys also showed that in most Member States, accompanying measures were considered useful or very useful; there was also a positive correlation between the provision of accompanying measures and overall FEAD satisfaction.

In 2017, accompanying measures, the innovative component of FEAD, became more visible and more refined. They allow basic food and material assistance to be complemented with dedicated advice and guidance, and focused social inclusion activities, resulting in a more pronounced inclusion approach.