The welfare state has a long history of providing some of its support to the needy in kind rather than in cash. This can range from soup kitchens to public housing as well as food stamps.
In the USA, food stamps provide provide food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people living. Food stamps can only be exchanged for food.
Instead of requiring the poor and needy to attend a soup kitchen, they can be given vouchers to buy food at supermarkets and take it home and cook at themselves. These days some sort of debit card system can be used where purchases are restricted to food at supermarkets and other participating retailers.
A close parallel with food stamps, properly understood, is free school breakfast programs. The welfare state is providing in-kind support to hungry children. This is done at school, to ensure that the children eat the meals.
Rather than rely on their parents to spend their welfare benefits and income support on food for their children, the food is given directly to the children when they arrive at school in the morning. In New Zealand, these free school breakfast programs are restricted to schools in low income areas.
There is a Feed the Kids Bill in Parliament sponsored by the Green Party. I have frequently criticised this proposal as it doesn’t provide breakfast to needy children at the weekends and school holidays. They are left to go hungry. Abandoned by their so called social justice champions through lack of imagination and self-awareness.
If children are showing up at school without their breakfast on a regular basis, their parents should reported that the child protection authorities for intervention. This can start with budget advice and assistance with applying for any additional and emergency financial support they are eligible for from Work and Income New Zealand.
Soup kitchens not only provides people with food, it provides various other assistance to help people to get back on their feet.
If you were proposing a food stamps program in New Zealand because children are going hungry, you’ll be laughed at if you suggested it should only apply the part of the year such as during the school term.
That is precisely what the Greens are doing. The only difference is how they are organised the provision of in-kind support to children, this case, food. Instead of their parents collecting a debit card that can only be used to buy food, the food is eaten by their children at school.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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