FOOD CHECK 2023. The Rural Families association is calling for aid of 65 euros per month for low-income households. A sum corresponding, according to her, to what families need to eat healthy food.
[Mis à jour le 23 février 2023 à 09h16] Will a food check finally see the light of day in 2023? After various attempts, for the most part annihilated because of their complexity of implementation, a new track seems to hold the rope. The association Rural families made a request to the government, based on its annual Price Observatory, published this Wednesday, February 22. According to the organization, a family of two adults and two children needs a minimum 477 euros per month to eat properly. However, this amount is greater than 65 euros what a family living at the poverty line can afford. De facto, the association demands from the executive a monthly help aimed at the most modest French households in an unprecedented inflationary context. Consumer price inflation in the food sector exceeds 13% in January 2023 over one year, according to INSEE.
Earlier, in November 2022, Elisabeth Borne announced the creation of a fund for sustainable food aid, worth 60 millions of euros from 2023. This great novelty could therefore replace a hypothetical food check, in the small papers since 2020. This fund of 60 million euros could allow “the most fragile” citizens to access “quality food” as number 2 of the government pointed out. This sum would first make it possible to “support our major national players so that they can buy more quality products”. Problem, this food check is not included in the 2023 budget. Since then, the government has not given more precise information about this new device which could replace the famous food check, long awaited by the most modest households for access to healthier food.
The fund for sustainable food aid of 60 million euros, desired by Elisabeth Borne, could be managed by certain major national networks, and regional prefects through “local projects”. “The latter” will be able to support initiatives (…) between farmers, producers who will also be able to offer short circuits for quality food. For example, also setting up sustainable food vouchers since it is something that we want to be able to then develop on a national scale”, continued the head of government.
But originally the scholarship studentsthe beneficiaries of housing benefits (PLA) even if they no longer live with their parents, as well as the beneficiaries of social minima like the RSA, theSSAI’AAHor even theASPA should have benefited from the food voucher. Finally, the latter received the inflation bonus, or exceptional back-to-school bonus of 100 euros on September 15th.
The possible food check corresponding to the aid of 60 million euros is not on the program of the 2023 budget. So, it is difficult to know the exact terms of this new food check, and a potential payment date if a such a formula was retained for 2023.
If the recommendations of the association Rural families were to convince the government, this “new look” food check could see the light of day in the course of 2023. However, no exact date has yet been announced.