Food cards in Russia: reasons and purposes of introduction. Who will not be given food cards?

It is planned that in 2018 food cards for the poor will finally come into use. Planning for the implementation of this idea has been under consideration since 2015, but now the Government is talking about such cards as a fait accompli.

Unfortunately, the main reason for the emergence of such a measure of state support was the unfavorable economic situation in the country. Part of the population of the Russian Federation is below the poverty line and needs additional funds that will be spent to meet the needs of such citizens.

According to 2016 statistics, food packages on cards may be needed by approximately 15 percent of the population of the Russian Federation. In 2018, such low-income citizens may be given the opportunity to purchase a minimum amount of products at the expense of the state.

The number of persons who will receive such government support measures includes citizens who have incomes below the subsistence level.

Grocery cards will be issued only to those categories of citizens who find themselves below the poverty line, and they have the opportunity to prove this. That is, parasites and freelancers who hide their income cannot count on receiving such a measure of government assistance.

Cards will be provided only to certain categories of citizens. To do this, the interested party needs to make a few simple calculations:

1. Add up all the income that was received by all family members during the last 3 months. All benefits and scholarships must be taken into account.
2. The resulting amount is divided by 3 to determine the average monthly earnings.
3. The total amount must be divided by the total number of family members (children and pensioners are taken into account).

If the final number is below the subsistence level, then large families or pensioners with a minimum pension will be issued a food card.

The card will contain points that can be spent on purchasing a number of domestic essential goods.

How much will the coupons be issued?

To transfer funds, each low-income citizen will be provided with special social cards on which bonus points will be awarded.

According to preliminary calculations, within a year, 10,000 rubles will be transferred to each such card, which can be spent on food for low-income citizens.

Cash in the amount of 850 to 1200 rubles will be credited monthly. Moreover, after this period the money will be burned. That is, you cannot transfer points to the next month. It is believed that such a short deadline will encourage citizens to spend accrued funds on essential products, and not save them in order to later purchase something more expensive.

Moreover, at the legislative level, a program of food products is defined on which a low-income citizen can spend these points.

What products are available

The holder of a grocery card will not be able to purchase whatever he wants with the accrued points. According to the law, a low-income citizen will be able to spend money only on products from domestic producers, and only on things that the daily diet of an ordinary Russian cannot be imagined without.

Exact list of products, for the purchase of which food cards are intended, is still in development. But it is known that low-income citizens will be able to purchase free goods that make up their daily diet, which includes:

1. Meat fish;
2. Bakery products;
3. Dairy products;
4. Spices, sugar, salt;
5. Vegetables fruits.

The composition of this list may change. In particular, in the near future it is planned to add pet food and hygiene products to products intended for pensioners and other low-income categories of citizens.

Such certificates will not apply to the purchase of alcohol and cigarettes. The Government says that they do not intend to support the habits that Russians have.

Moreover, the program provides that low-income citizens will not be able to purchase surplus products with these points. For example, a person will not be able to buy sweets for his child with these funds; he will have to pay for them out of his own pocket.

Purchasing goods will only be possible in stores that cooperate with such a social program. It is planned that by the second half of 2018, citizens will have the opportunity to pay for visits to social canteens using such points.

How to apply for food stamps

Since the start of the program to support low-income citizens has not yet occurred, the exact procedure for obtaining a food card in 2018 is still unknown. It is planned that the procedure for issuing such a food certificate for Russians will come into force only at the end of 2017 - beginning of 2018, as soon as the bill goes through the latest changes and is finally put into force.

It is clear that a food card can be issued only after the citizen in need can submit documents confirming the possibility of receiving such a measure of state support.

The main document in this list is certificates confirming low income levels, confirming that family members really do not have enough money to achieve their income.

The documents will be accepted by the social protection authorities, so the interested citizen will need to contact the government agency located at the applicant’s place of residence.

The exact date when food cards will be introduced is still unknown. It is planned that low-income citizens and pensioners can issue cards and start using this program at the end of 2017 or at the beginning of 2018. Therefore, experts advise closely monitoring the news.

The food assistance program for certain categories of citizens will start working in Russia from 2018

The Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance support the proposal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to introduce special cards in the country to which points or bonuses will be transferred. For them, citizens whose income level is below the subsistence level will be able to receive a number of food products, except alcohol and tobacco.

Not a poverty benefit, but help

Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said that it is not yet clear how the program will be financed, but this issue is now being resolved by the Ministry of Finance. “The Ministry of Industry and Trade has an idea to share the financial burden with business - product manufacturers,” Manturov clarified.

According to him, about 300 billion rubles will be allocated for the implementation of the project. You can use food cards to purchase meat, fish and fresh vegetables. However, you won’t be able to go wild: the monthly amount transferred to the food card will be about one and a half thousand rubles. With this money you can buy 2 kilograms of meat, 2 kilograms of fish and 30 kilograms of potatoes.

As the Government emphasizes, cards are one of the tools to support consumer demand within the framework of the program developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. It will help Russian production to develop, and the poor to establish healthy nutrition.

It’s too early to talk about specific amounts on the card. These and other details are being finalized. According to Manturov, the money transferred to the card cannot be cashed out or saved - if it is not used to purchase products within a month, it will “burn out.”

According to Rosstat, the number of citizens with income below the subsistence level in Russia is about 15-16 million people. The latest VTsIOM poll showed that 78 percent of respondents were in favor of introducing cards.

“We have always supported a system of additional assistance to categories of Russians in need, and the introduction of food cards is no exception. Nobody considers them a poverty benefit,” Valery Ryazansky, head of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, told Parliamentary Newspaper. He suggested that many Russians associate the card system with a similar failed experiment from the Gorbachev period, and that is why many are now worried. “But now a completely different model is being proposed, it is verified. Funds will be sought in the budget gradually. And for now we are talking about a pilot project, to which, I hope, NGOs will also join. After all, cards can be used to distribute not only perishable products, but also, for example, household services,” the senator noted.

Becoming a beneficiary is also not easy

So, citizens with a monthly income not exceeding the subsistence level will be able to receive a food card. Its value is different in each region of the country.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has already clarified that they are going to issue food cards only to those citizens who find themselves below the poverty line due to external circumstances and can prove it. The state will definitely not support parasites who are able to work. Those who hide the real amount of income and pretend to be poor should also not count on help.

How can a citizen understand whether he can take part in the food card program? To do this, he needs to make some simple calculations.

Add up all the income his family received over the past three months. Benefits, subsidies, scholarships also need to be taken into account. Divide the resulting amount by 3 - take the arithmetic average and divide the result by the number of family members, including children and pensioners. If the final value is below the subsistence level, you can safely apply for a food card.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has not yet specified what documents are needed to obtain a food card. It is known that control over the distribution of cards will be carried out by territorial social security authorities. To apply for benefits, you will need to bring the necessary documents and undergo an interview. The list of citizens entitled to benefits will be reviewed every six months.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade promises to present an exact list of available domestic products soon. It is known that it will include meat and fish, bread, eggs and milk, salt, sugar, spices, vegetables, fruits, dried fruits. In addition, pet food, personal hygiene products, seeds and seedlings were also included as social products. The benefit will not apply to alcohol and cigarettes.

Card holders will also not be able to spend preferential funds on surplus products - say, candy. A low-income citizen who wants to please his child with sweets will have to spend his own money on it. The most controversial position so far is medicines - the Ministry of Industry and Trade has not decided whether to include them in the list of social products.

“To implement the food assistance program for the poor, it is necessary to resolve not only issues with its financing, but also to work out in detail the very mechanism of how the cards work, starting from the accrual of points on them and ending with their use at retail outlets,” says Boris, head of the agro-industrial complex research sector of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences Frumkin.

And Alexander Khamidullin, a member of the Public Chamber Commission on Agro-Industrial Complex and Rural Development, told Parliamentary Gazeta that it would be good to start the card program before 2018. “I understand that all finances need to be calculated, but the need to support poor Russians has been discussed for a long time. In addition, we must understand that 10-20 percent of this targeted assistance will be used for other purposes,” the expert said.

In his opinion, all problems should go away gradually with the practice of using food cards. “The first step has already been taken, especially since our country is not the author of this system. In the USA, for example, since 1961 there has been a food rationing system for certain categories of people,” Khamidullin noted.

By the way, food certificates were also introduced in modern Russia, at the regional level. For example, in 2013, three thousand food cards for large families were issued in the Kirov region.

How are they

Indeed, in America, citizens have been paying for food stamps for 50 years. Financial assistance from the state for the purchase of food is received on special plastic cards - an average of $126. In 2016, 44 million people received such assistance from the state. Single Americans with a net income below $990 may qualify for the program.

In Great Britain, the coupon system was introduced after World War II due to food shortages. The program was resumed in 2014. In Cuba, food cards have been issued to the poor for over 50 years, but now the coupon system on Liberty Island is gradually fading away. It is interesting that cigarettes were excluded from the number of “preferential” goods in Cuba only in 2016.

Today, many Russians are concerned about the question of whether food cards will be introduced in Russia in 2018, because conversations about improving the standard of living of low-income citizens have been going on for a long time. The preliminary launch date for this project was planned for 2017, but the state budget did not allow this event to take place. 2018 may become a “pilot” year for this bill, and a conclusion about how the situation with the poor and food cards will develop further will be possible a little later.

Food cards and their features

According to the plans of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, about 16 million Russians who live “below the poverty line” (their level of wages and social benefits do not reach ) can receive food cards. People will receive special bank cards, which will receive a monthly amount of approximately 1,200 rubles. This is roughly what food cards in 2018 will look like, and the latest news suggests that the money received will be spent on food products that quickly spoil (milk, meat products, fruits, vegetables). The funds received cannot be withdrawn from the account and spent on canned food, household chemicals, alcoholic beverages or cigarettes.

It must be said that in case of incomplete spending of funds from the card, they will be written off, after which the person can count on a new receipt. Government officials believe that the introduction of this system will solve the problems of a huge number of Russians; it is only necessary to correctly determine who will receive food cards in 2018, because today many Russians receive wages “in envelopes”, and the assistance system using food cards is aimed specifically to improve the quality of life of the poor.

Latest government news

The authorities are talking a lot today about the introduction of food cards in 2018, but if we give more specific dates, then we must say that the cards will be introduced no earlier than the middle of the year, and the fully state program will start working no earlier than 2019 (this statement was made by Denis Manturov at the last meeting with journalists). The Ministry of Finance has already given its official consent to the implementation of this program, but the sources of its financing are still being worked out by the authorities, so the program has weaknesses.

Social protection authorities will distribute the cards, and the main feature will be that assistance will be provided in a targeted manner, that is, only those Russians who really need it should count on it. According to the latest government data, food cards for the poor will be issued by the Mir payment system from 2018, and it is to them that funds for the purchase of food will be transferred daily. It will be possible to purchase products only from those trading enterprises that become participants in the program, and they will be administered by one of the largest organizations in the Russian Federation.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that the American authorities have long been using a similar system of supporting the poor. However, Americans receive cards not with 20 dollars a month (1200 rubles), but with 130 dollars, and at the same time those people whose income does not exceed 1.5 thousand dollars a month can count on receiving assistance. Should we believe the promises of the authorities or not? This question does not have a clear answer, because there are problems in the country’s budget, but for now there is no doubt that food cards will still be introduced into use by Russians in 2018.

According to statistical information, more than 15% of Russian citizens have the right to obtain low-income status, that is, families whose average earnings are below the subsistence level. Based on such figures and in an effort to improve the standard of living of the population, the Government is implementing social programs of additional assistance. In particular, food packages will be provided for the poor, which include an extensive list of food products.

Legislative regulation of the issue

It has been planned to introduce such privileges for more than three years. But given that the practical implementation of new ideas requires favorable financial soil, food cards have not yet been issued. Therefore, in 2019, a social card for low-income citizens may become operational, giving the right to receive food for free or with significant discounts.

Table No. 1 “Legal regulation of the issue”

After the adoption of a federal law, local regulations begin to be developed regulating the rules for the implementation of social policy within the subject of the Federation.

As for the timing of the provision of assistance, it is already known when food cards for the poor will be introduced. The implementation of the program will begin in the middle of the current calendar year. But full-fledged activity in this area is expected only from the beginning of 2019. According to the adopted legal acts, the following principles for the implementation of social policy in this area are established:

• production of individual cards with points, the number of which corresponds to 10,000 rubles;
• points will be awarded monthly in equal amounts;
• all funds not spent within a calendar month are canceled on the first day of the following month;
• You can pay with points in the supermarket;
• functions for debiting or transferring funds are not available - only purchasing through a payment terminal;
• the card is valid for one year and the amount on it is not replenished;
• It is allowed to independently replenish the card with cash, providing 40% bonuses from the deposited funds.

Main concepts

Such cards will not be issued to the entire population. To apply for privileges, it is important to prove your unsatisfactory financial situation. It is also necessary to take into account other conditions for the implementation of the program.

Table No. 2 “Main concepts of the food benefit program”

Important! A coupon does not always guarantee free products. Discounts and promotions are available for certain categories of food units.

Who is eligible for the benefit?

According to the approved documents, the following categories of the population have the right to receive benefits:

• low-income people (married couples or individuals);
• citizens who have received preferential status “” (assigned by social protection authorities if three or more children are dependent on the parents);
• unemployed citizens (the person is required to register with the employment service);
• (a woman who raises children on her own if the father was deprived of paternity or renounced his rights in court).

In addition to the presence of these circumstances, you will have to confirm your earnings, for which:

• calculate the income of the family (relatives who live together and run a joint household, including parents, spouses and children, grandparents, aunts and uncles) for the past three months;
• divide the amount received among all family members (even those who do not work).

As for the types of income taken into account, these include: wages, interest on bank deposits, scholarships, remuneration for intellectual work, payments under a commercial real estate lease agreement, alimony, etc.

List of products that can be purchased

At the moment, the list of available products is still being compiled and has not been finalized. But the following rules are already known:

• All food products recommended for the daily human diet will be included in the accounting;
• the benefit cannot be spent on alcohol and smoking products;
• Only domestic goods will be on the list;
• it is possible to purchase personal hygiene products, but only those made in Russia;
• there is a chance that specialty pet foods will be included in the list.

The final list of the food basket will be available by the beginning of summer, immediately before the start of implementation of this program.

The procedure for issuing food cards for the poor

The amount of bonus points is not universal, but will depend on the region of provision, so you can initiate the issuance of food stamps for low-income citizens in 2019 only at your place of registration. To do this you need to follow these steps.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade shared details of plans to introduce targeted food assistance for the poor - as is customary in many countries around the world. The program should kill two birds with one stone: improve the diet of the poor and help domestic producers. Mainly – the already prosperous largest agro-industrial holdings.

Citizens in need will receive special cards to which “cash equivalents” – points or bonuses – will be transferred. With them you can buy almost any domestic product, except for alcohol and tobacco products and other “harmful” products such as coffee, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

After all, these products do not improve the diet, and this is the main social goal of the program. It is no coincidence that the Ministry of Health helped compile a list of products for the program. The list includes bread, flour, cereals and pasta, potatoes, vegetables and melons, fresh fruits and dried fruits, sugar, salt, drinking water, eggs and vegetable oil, as well as meat, fish, milk and products made from them. In addition, the list includes seedlings, seeds and feed for farm animals, which is especially important for the rural population.

The cards can be used in all stores that are ready to work in the central processing system; the creation of a separate retail network for this project is not required. Points will not be accumulated; they must be spent within a month, otherwise they will “burn out.”

To whom and how much

Experts spent a long time discussing how much money the state could allocate for food cards and who would be able to receive them. In September last year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade estimated the need for the program at 240 billion rubles, and the number of participants at 15–16 million people. However, later the ministry presented a different estimate: in 2017, 70 billion rubles will be allocated to the program, and payments could amount to 1.4 thousand rubles per month. This means that the allocated funds would be enough to support about 4.2 million people for a year.

However, now the amount allocated by the state has been doubled. It is worth allocating 140 billion rubles for the food aid program, said the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. Based on the allocation of 1.4 thousand rubles per month, then with this amount of funding the program will be able to help about 8.3 million people with purchases.

If you distribute 140 billion rubles among 20 million people (this number of people in need was discussed initially), then they will receive 7 thousand rubles per year, or 583 rubles per month. At the same time, the costs of implementing the project and issuing food cards can consume up to 25% of the funds allocated from the budget, notes the general director of Money Fanny, Alexander Shustov.

It is still unknown who will be eligible to receive a food card; the criteria will be determined later. And how much will actually be allocated is also not yet clear, since the program itself is under consideration by the government. Anna Bodrova from Alpari is sure that 140 billion rubles will not be given for the purchase of domestic products, at least because there are no free amounts of this order in the budget.

However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has an idea to share the financial burden with business - product manufacturers. Manufacturers have a reason for this. They will be able to share products with the state at a discount for a number of categories of citizens, performing a social function. On the other hand, producers can hope that the state will begin to regulate prices for a number of important social goods less. And, in the end, manufacturers will be able to increase their sales. The main thing is to prove that this is really a product made in Russia.

Program effectiveness

The Ministry of Industry and Trade itself and other departments insist that this program kills two birds with one stone. On the one hand, it helps improve the diet of needy citizens. On the other hand, it helps domestic agricultural producers and stimulates consumer demand, and also generally supports the Russian economy. In particular, hopes were voiced that every ruble invested in the program could provide an additional 2 rubles for the country’s GDP. This effect is inherent in a similar US program for preferential purchases of food products. Each participant in the program received an average of $125 per month in 2014.

“The overall result of investing in the domestic economy can give a double increase if you calculate the chain of receiving money from consumers to manufacturers, resource suppliers and logisticians, and then trace its return in the form of deductions from wages and taxes back to the state budget. But again, this is ideal, but in practice everything will depend on the approach to program implementation,” explains Sergei Zvenigorodsky from Solid Management Management Company.

However, both social and economic effects have pitfalls. Firstly, Bodrova points out, social support under this program will be short-term, since food prices are rising systematically and constantly. In order for the program to continue to have a social effect, the volume of its funding will need to be constantly increased. Secondly, not all Russians who need appropriate assistance will be able to collect the required number of papers and certificates.

Of course, there will be some economic effect from the implementation of the program, but not all market players will receive it. “It’s not a fact that farmers and small industries will be able to make their way in this direction,” says Anna Bodrova.

And in general, experts doubt that this program will have a significant impact on GDP. Taking into account the negative dynamics of consumption caused by still high inflation rates and lagging growth in real incomes of the population, 140 billion rubles will not allow us to achieve a turning point simply because this is a tiny amount on the market scale, says Alexander Shustov. For comparison: the revenue of X5 Retail Group alone in 2016 amounted to 1.025 trillion rubles, and in general, retail trade turnover in Russia last year amounted to 28.13 trillion rubles (a drop of 5.2%).

Shustov believes that it would be more effective from an economic point of view to use these funds to support farmers who are being actively pushed out of the market by agricultural holdings. “Over 10 years, the number of farms in Russia decreased by 1.6 times from 285 thousand to 174.5 by 2016 due to the high cost of loans and the fact that they simply cannot get on the shelves of retail chains. At the same time, food production in Russia is concentrated in the hands of 10–15 largest agricultural holdings,” explains the interlocutor.