The Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation has entered into a partnership with Carpenters Fiji Ltd trading as Morris Hedstrom and New world Supermarkets are to supply basic food items through its Food Voucher Programme.
More than 16,000 vouchers have already been distributed through the divisional and district Social Welfare Officers. Those who have been issued with food vouchers include the chronically ill, elderly and those with permanently disability under the Family Assistance Program.
The Ministry is intending to assist an additional 3000 recipients, which would include families of children under kinship care, single mothers and those who have been deserted by their spouse and have children to look after.
Recipients will be able to redeem the food vouchers at Morris Hedstrom and New World Supermarket outlets around the country.
The Ministry has issued additional $30.00 cash vouchers to recipients in maritime zones and out lying areas where there is no accessibility to supermarkets. It is hoped that by the middle of the year we will be able to provide vendors facilities in the rural and remote locations.
The award to the supermarkets will be reviewed in the next few months with the view to have vendors put forward a more innovative program which can further stretch the dollar value and give the recipients a better deal in terms of the food items they can purchase.
The Ministry has a budget of $7.4 million dollars for this project.