TALLINN — The Tallinn city government has invited the worst hit low-income earners to submit applications for wood and potato rations to help them to survive the winter.

An initial 200 families will be given two cubic meters of wood and around 2000 families will get 40 kilograms of potatoes, the municipal officials told Baltic Reports.

The municipality is bankrolling the handout, which will be sorely needed by families plagued by unemployment in Estonia. Unemployment in the northernmost Baltic state was 13.5 percent in the second quarter of this year and is expected to continue rising, driven by layoffs in the manufacturing sector based in the Tallinn district.

The average wage for Estonians in June this year was 13,693 kroons (875 euros) monthly. People eligible for the program can earn up to a third of the average — anyone earning less than 4,350 krooni will be allowed to apply. Struggling families can submit applications until Sept. 30 and will have food and wood delivered in October and November.

The program is expected to cost city hall around 500,000 krooni.