Food vouchers for the unemployed and low-level pensioners

Greek society is officially entering the era of mess coupons, marking the beginning of a period with characteristics that allude to earlier times.  Poverty and degradation are affecting a large segment of the population, culminating in the cases of student malnutrition, leading the government to take immediate relief measures for vulnerable social groups. 

Thus, intervention procedures are moving faster now, firstly in the school community in order to deal with cases of malnutrition or even starvation. As it seems, help will not only come for schools but throughout society and especially where survival problems are identified. The homeless, the unemployed, disabled people, pensioners, large families with low incomes and those who will enter redundancy are expected to join the new system of food coupons promoted also by the health ministry. 

At a value of around 3-5 euros per beneficiary per day, the coupons will ensure access to food from supermarkets, convenience stores, dairies and bakeries, excluding sweets, soft drinks and alcohol. 

Businesses will be cashing in the nominal value of the coupons for a specific service, and the preferred food would come from the Mediterranean diet. Besides the measure of coupons, officials are discussing a model of central intervention spearheaded by the strengthening of the existing social groceries and the establishment of new ones. 

The supply of food in such cases could be either free or highly discounted. Active participation in organizing and implementing such a program will include Non-Governmental Organizations and Public Entities such as Senior Citizens Open Protection Centers (KAPI). Officials are also studying the mobilization of large social organizations, including the Church, for the provision of voluntarily cooked meals.