Food-related Programs

Food-based safety net programs support adequate consumption and contribute to assuring livelihoods. They differ from other safety net programs in that they are tied to the provision of food, either directly, or through cash-like instruments (food stamps, coupons) that may be used to purchase food. The debate on the use of cash rather than food has been receiving renewed attention in recent years, in part because of changing donor practices.

In parallel there has been growing attention on the appropriateness of food transfers taking into account a number of concerns e.g. impacts on functioning food markets, transaction costs, type and size of transfer, preferences of beneficiaries.

Supplementary feeding programs provide a direct transfer of food to target households or individuals. The most common forms are maternal and child feeding and school feeding. The food may be prepared and eaten on-site (e.g., in child feeding centers or school feeding programs), or given as a dry ration to take home. Supplementary feeding is often provided as an incentive for participation in public services such as primary health care (pre- and post-natal and well-baby care) and education.

School feeding programs are a form of supplementary feeding. Such programs encourage children’s enrollment and improve their ability to pay attention in class. They vary from the provision of breakfast, lunch or a midmorning snack, to a combination of these. School feeding programs are often integrated with health and nutrition education, parasite treatment, health screening, and provision of water and sanitation.

Food for work (FFW) programs provide food rations in exchange of a given amount of work done or a stipulated wage rate. FFW programs have long been used to protect households against the decline in purchasing power that often accompanies seasonal unemployment, climate-induced famine, or other periodic disruptions by providing them with employment. For more information, please visit the Public Works section of this web site.

Food stamps, vouchers or coupons are other mechanisms used to deliver an income transfer to a target population. Because they are linked to food, they also tend to increase food consumption more than a cash transfer. Such instruments may restrict beneficiaries to buying only a few specific foods or they may allow them to purchase any food in the market.

Consumer food price subsidies operate by either implicitly or explicitly lowering the price of certain foodstuffs, ideally inferior foods (that is, foods consumed by the poor but not by better-off households). For more information, please see the Price & Other Subsidies section of this web site

Emergency food aid includes direct providing of food, supplementary feeding for vulnerable groups, and therapeutic feeding during crises, emergencies, and situations in which people are displaced. Emergency food programs provide a safety net of last resort and account for a large share of humanitarian response. The timing, targeting and appropriateness of emergency food aid are areas of growing debate.