FOOD CHECK. The new food voucher intended for 9 million French people should be distributed at the start of the 2022 school year. For whom? What amount? We take stock.
[Mis à jour le 30 juin 2022 à 09h17] The food check will see the light of day! More exactly, a emergency food aid, Firstly. Indeed, the government’s objective is to act as quickly as possible to enable the poorest households to eat properly in these times of galloping inflation. The figures are not reassuring, INSEE published this Thursday, June 30 the latest figures for the rise in consumer prices, and they are increasing again (5,8% in June over one year). The 9 million poorest French people concerned by this emergency food aid, for an amount of 100 eurosplus 50 euros per dependent child as indicated by the government spokeswoman Olivia Gregoire, during a trip near Nantes, Thursday, June 29. This aid will be paid from the back to school 2022in the month of september. Recipients of active solidarity income (RSA), disabled adult allowance (AAH), personalized housing allowances (APL) or minimum old age (Aspa) are concerned by this exceptional system, in the small papers for nearly two years. “Nothing is fixed yet” assures the spokesperson, but this bonus should be paid automatically into the bank account of the beneficiaries, without any action on their part. Like the last inflation bonus of 100 euros, paid to 38 million French people in beginning of the year.
The “food check” strictly speaking, it is finally not for now. Intended to promote local, organic and healthy products, it should be requalified as “helps to eat better“with the objective of allowing beneficiaries to eat made in France and directing them towards quality products. As this project is extremely complicated to set up (choice of products, beneficiaries, stores concerned, etc.), it is not not yet on the agenda. Hence the appearance of this emergency food aid to act quickly on the wallets of the French. The food check itself could therefore be distributed in 2023, in addition to the 100 euros intended for emergency food aid, paid at the start of the 2022 academic year.
The implementation of the food check has proven to be more complex than expected for the executive and has seen several dates being brought forward over the months. Budget Minister Gabriel Attal said “hope to be able to present this measure in 2023″, evoking for his part a new inflation bonus of 150 euros, paid at the start of the 2022 school year. The Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau had advanced a period: ” October November”. However, this period simply corresponds to the debates concerning the 2023 finance law. At the end of June, Olivia Grégoire, government spokesperson, surprised by presenting the beginnings of the system and finally confirmed a payment at the start of the school year, therefore in September 2022.
The amount of the food check was made official by Government spokesperson Olivia Grégoire during a trip near Nantes on Thursday, June 29. It will be 100 euro plus 50 euro per additional dependent child. A time announced around 60 euros, then at 150 euros, the government put an end to the suspense at the end of June, a few days before the presentation of the purchasing power bill, on July 6 in the Council of ministers.
This was the big question of this food voucher project. Who will be the beneficiaries? Emmanuel Macron had mentioned “lower classes” and “middle classes” on March 22, 2022 in an interview with France Bleu. What will be the criteria? Will there be a reference tax income threshold not to be exceeded? These questions remained unclear until June 29, 2022. During a trip near Nantes, the government spokesperson Olivia Grégoire confirmed the implementation of the food voucher, and mentioned the figure of 9 million beneficiaries among the most modest French people. In 2021, the Ministry of the Economy defended the idea that the system be entrusted to the municipal centers for social action (CCAS), thus targeting 5 million beneficiaries, a track also presented by the citizens of the Citizens’ Convention in their report. We would therefore be moving towards other criteria, to be specified when the project is presented on July 6, 2022 to the Council of Ministers.
The Family Allowance Fund does not currently allocate food vouchers nationwide but could be the body responsible for this system, linked to the social aid it already pays. At the local level, certain food aid schemes can already be put in place. It is advisable to contact the social action department of your fund. On its dedicated site, the Caf de Saône-et-Loire notably highlighted the implementation of one-off aid in April 2020, in order to help the most deprived to buy basic food products. The device was then aimed at recipients of family benefits, APL, RSA and the activity bonus.
The priority of Emmanuel Macron and his government is fruit and vegetables. And French if possible, from short circuits, and organic! Products qualified as “healthy”. This food voucher could be used in the supermarket or on the stalls of your local markets. The track of another device intended for organic products was also confirmed by Olivia Grégoire on June 29, 2022, the latter evoking a future “more qualitative food voucher to access organic, fresh and local products”.