In November 2022, the government announced the launch of a new aid program as part of the fight against food insecurity: “Eat better for all”. The device was to be deployed from the spring of 2023 and allow the most modest to access “healthy, sustainable and quality food”.
According to INSEE, inflation reached 5.8% over one year in May 2023. In this context of general price increases, many French people are reducing their food expenditure. However, according to Service-Public, nearly 8 million people are considered to be food insecure in France. Endowed with a fund of 60 million euros, the “Eat better for all” program should benefit 4 million people.
Jean-Christophe Combe, Minister of Solidarity, hopes that the “Eating better for all” program will allow “the greatest number of our fellow citizens who need it to have access to quality products.” To achieve this, the government will put in place various offers for the most modest French people. At the local level, these offers may take the form of:
This Monday, July 3, 2023, Le Nouvel Economiste announced the launch of one of these offers: a monthly food check. When will it come into effect? Who will be the French concerned?
The aid will take the form of a monthly food check for 50 euros. It can be accumulated in the same household: for example if the latter is made up of four people, the total aid will be 200 euros. This sum can be spent on the purchase of food products. In addition, if the product purchased meets the sustainability criteria of the Egalim law, the household will benefit from an additional 50% bonus.
The concrete form of the check has not yet been decided. According to Ari Brodach, director of the Ecological Transition of Seine-Saint-Denis, “the details of the mechanism have not yet been fixed but several avenues are possible, and it is likely that the model will be inspired by that of meal vouchers “, reports The New Economist. The sum could thus be spent at any merchant equipped with a banking terminal.
From the first quarter of 2024, a thousand inhabitants of Seine-Saint-Denis will benefit from this monthly food aid for six months, reports Le Nouvel Economiste. The beneficiaries will be selected from four intermunicipalities in the department: Est Ensemble, Plaine Commune, Grand Paris Grand Est and Paris Terre d’Envol. They will be selected according to their profile: single women with children, students, etc. The aid put in place by the departmental council will be accompanied by social and nutritional monitoring.
