KIZILAYKARTS for distribution of food, Turkey

Cards are loaded with credit and used to purchase food from accredited vendors.

WFP and the Turkish Red Crescent Society provide migrants with KIZILAYKART food cards with credit to purchase essential food and NFIs from accredited vendors both in camps and in host communities. The programme allows migrants to diversify their diets based on their own priorities shaped by their local or cultural preferences. It also prevents food waste, and allows migrants to socialize in markets and have control over their budgets.

Each month the project uploads to KIZILAYKARTs 50 Turkish lira (17 US dollars) for expenditure in camps and 62 Turkish lira (21 US dollars) for expenditure in urban areas for every person living in a Syrian household. Cards are provided through Halk Bank. The amount uploaded can only be used for purchasing approved supplies through point of sale machines earmarked to contracted suppliers. This permits oversight and monitoring to ensure that sufficient quantities of various nutritious and fresh food products are available for purchase by households at competitive market prices. Items such as alcohol, tobacco, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, ice-cream and soda cannot be bought or sold through the cards. Turkish Red Crescent Society and WFP teams perform periodic market audits. If they note abuse – either on the price or quality of products – they issue a report, which can cause the termination of the contract with the stores in question.

Ninety per cent of interviewed beneficiaries said that the cards were better aligned to traditional preferences than hot meal distribution. KIZILAYKARTs allow access to varied, nutritious food which migrants can purchase when and how they wish.