FOOD CHECK. The government remained vague as to the creation and the date of payment of the food check. When ? For who ? What amount? Linternaute.com answers all your questions.
[Mis à jour le 20 juin 2022 à 08h21] The food check has been leading the debate for several weeks now. The government, and more particularly Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, believed that a “reflection must be launched” On the question, “to allow all French people to access quality products and organic products“the week spent at the microphone of France Info. One thing is certain, the creation of this emergency aid gives the executive a lot of trouble, to the point of questioning it, of the month for this year. Indeed, as announced by Gabriel Attal on France Info : “We hope to be able to present this measure in 2023“. In other words, the creation and payment of the food voucher will not take place in 2022, it has already been postponed. No precise date has yet been communicated concerning its implementation in the first quarter of 2023.
The amount of this possible food check should be between 100 and 150 euros, depending on the number of dependent children in the household, and according to household income. It should be paid in one go to the bank account of the beneficiaries, and without any action on their part. Students and 18-25 year olds could be favored by the executive, in the same way as the modest and middle classes. Finally, low-wage families with dependent children could also benefit from this new scheme.
The payment of the food check was planned for the start of the 2022 school year, but its implementation proved to be more complex than expected for the executive. Budget Minister Gabriel Attal “hopes to be able to present this measure in 2023”. For the time being, no precise date has been communicated, and the food check will be replaced in 2022 by a new inflation bonus of 150 euros, paid at the start of the 2022 school year.
If Emmanuel Macron is re-elected and sets up this new aid, the food check should be a device aimed at the most deprived people. Emmanuel Macron spoke of “lower classes” and “middle classes” at France Bleu on March 22, 2022. What will be the criteria? Will there be a threshold of reference tax income not to exceed ? For the moment, these questions have not yet been arbitrated. At this stage, several leads are on the table. 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.
The Minister of Agriculture, he leaned more towards aid for “young people or families with children on low incomes”, in the form of a check or card. The idea is also carried by the deputy of Paris, Mounir Mahjoubi, who defends a project close to that of Julien Denormandie.
The amount of the food check is not yet known but should be between 100 and 150 euros. “The total budget could then rise from a few hundred million to two billion euros”, MP Mounir Mahjoubi had indicated in February 2021 to West France. “Afterwards, this will come into confrontation with other proposals, such as specific allocations for the Covid period. This is the whole subject of the discussions which are taking place at governmental level”, he added then. The powerful agricultural union FNSEA offers a device that would allow you to spend 5 euros a day. Invited by Jean-Jacques Bourdin on April 21, 2021, Julien Denormandie had advanced the amount of 50 euros per month.
The Fund of Family allowances does not currently allocate food vouchers on a national scale 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 check could be used in the supermarket or on the stalls of your local markets.