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Cash and Vouchers
WFP delivers hundreds of thousands of tons of food each year, but, increasingly, we give hungry people cash or vouchers to buy food for themselves.
Cash transfers provide money to people who are struggling to provide food for their families; vouchers can be redeemed for food items or “spent” in selected shops. They are used to tackle hunger in places where there is plenty of food in the marketplace but where poor people cannot afford to buy it.
Cash and vouchers can sometimes cut down the costs of transporting and storing food. They benefit the local economy, because beneficiaries spend the money in local markets. People often prefer cash and vouchers to traditional food assistance, because they offer more choice and variety.
WFP is using innovative ways to deliver the assistance, such as scratch cards or “e-vouchers” delivered to mobile phones by text message.
Cash and Vouchers - Stories
Malawi: Poor Farmers Get Cash Through Mobile Phones
With food prices high in Malawi's markets, many families are struggling to find enough to eat. A new programme by WFP is sending cash to the most vulnerable people through their mobile phones. This assistance enables them to buy more food and so keep hunger and malnutrition at bay.
Bolivia: Basilia Decides What Food Her Family Will Eat
Since she was a little girl, Basilia already knew about orchards. Her mother died when she was eight years old, meaning she had to leave school to take care of the orchards and the care and feeding of her little brothers alongside her father. Today, a WFP cash and vouchers programme, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), teaches Basilia and other women new techniques to cultivate orchards. The result is a better nutrition for their families.
WFP Assists Syrians In Turkey With Food E-Vouchers
As Syrians continue to flee violence and pour into neighbouring countries, there are now over 100,000 Syrians living in camps in Turkey. The Turkish authorities have been providing them with assistance but with the growing numbers of new arrivals, WFP is stepping in with a complimentary food e-voucher programme in partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent.
From Food Rations To Vouchers In Tripoli, Lebanon
On a narrow unpaved alleyway hidden between green bushes in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, a vacant yard was turned into a distribution site for food and non-food assistance. Hundreds of Syrian refugees fleeing violence in their home country picked up thier family food packages there. The monthly ration was heavy and the transportation was an additional burden. Now, they are able to buy their own food from local shops using vouchers.
Cash and Vouchers - Videos
