Those living at 150% of poverty will qualify for a food assistance. This will be used to buy staple grocery foods. For example, meat will qualify, but a candy bar will not. Determination of which is which is through the product’s UPC code (the barcode on the back of packaging). Other qualifying items will include fruits and vegetables, packaged meals, and most non-sugary drinks (coffees, milk, and teas). Foods with no nutritional value will not qualify, and will require that the customer will use their debit card for such items.
Once a person qualifies, their ID card will also function as their food card. When they go to a grocery store, and buy their groceries, it will be deducted from the food assistance amount rather than the actual funds from the Kaldan National Bank. This will eliminate any embarrassment one might have about food assistance. This however means that there is no way to tell the system to use your funds rather than the food assistance for qualifying foods.