The Swedish voluntary sector has recently established itself as a complementary actor in social policies, providing quality alternative services to disadvantaged populations. This new positioning of associations implies a professionalization of social action. Based on an immersion in the social and solidarity supermarket Matmissionen, the author seeks to analyze the effects of the professionalization of the associative sector and the importation of a commercial logic in the practice and perception of social work, by drawing on the discourses held by the structure on itself. The article shows how this process is part of a more global framework of activation of social protection and aid mechanisms: an ambiguous position that redefines the contours of the aid relationship and the relationship to public authorities.