MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Two million Argentines will be entitled to a “food stamps” system

Daniel Arroyo, the next Social Development minister warned that the current situation is creating a generation of “shorty and obese” Argentine children.

An estimated two million Argentines will be entitled to a foods stamp system to be implemented as part of the plan to fight hunger of the next government headed by president-elect Alberto Fernandez.

The announcement was done by Daniel Arroyo who will be the next Social Development minister and who warned that the current situation is creating a generation of “shorty and obese” Argentine children.

The food stamps plastic to be supplied by a government bank will not allow to extract money, will only be available for food staples and certainly no alcohol.

The first batch of beneficiaries will be mothers with children under six, which will be organized in dining rooms, with a close monitoring of nutritional factors.

Arroyo revealed that currently some eight million Argentines receive some sort of food assistance, in government and church institutions, of which some 20% are mothers with children below six, and “that is where we plan to begin”. The new system should benefit some 1.8 to 2 million people.

For this, Arroyo said, the 27.000 million pesos of this year will be increased to 40.000 million in 2020, some US$ 620 million. Likewise according to the food stamps bill the sum will be adjusted every two months to keep up with food prices' inflation.

“Studies indicate that 14% of Argentine children suffer of severe food insecurity, which in simple terms means that they miss at least one meal a day”, pointed out Arroyo.

The future minister also advanced that the incoming government is working on a system to help cut families indebtedness. “We are going to create a credit system, not related to banks, with very low rates, 2/3% annually to help the families rid of their debts”.