[Do basic welfare payments in Germany cover the food costs of a healthy diet for children and adolescents?]

Introduction: Families in Germany who live in poverty receive citizens' benefits (Bürgergeld) within the context of welfare legislation. Basic rates for children and adolescents are included in these benefits and staggered into three groups according to age. The need for nutrition is the largest category of the basic rate. The Optimized Mixed Diet (OMD) is a practical concept of a healthy diet for children and adolescents aged 1-18 years. Traditional and home-cooked meals are preferred. The aim of this project was to calculate the food costs of the OMD based on the underlying 7‑day meal plan.

Methods: The lowest shelf prices of 87 different foods from the OMD were recorded during market inspections in different food retailers (1 supermarket, 1 discounter; November 2022, Bochum, Germany). The nutrition basic rate was compared to the total food costs per month in accordance with the age groups of the welfare legislation as well as of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) reference values. Furthermore, the contributions of the food groups were determined based on total costs and total energy intake of the OMD.

Results: The food costs of the OMD are covered 101-109% by the standard nutritional rate of the citizens' benefits for every age group of the welfare legislation. The costs for the more narrowly defined DGE age groups are covered as well with a few exceptions. The main cost drivers of the OMD were vegetables/raw foods, and the main energy sources were bread/cereal products.

Discussion: The current citizens' benefits can cover the nutritional requirement of children and adolescents, provided that meals are self-cooked and low-priced foods are used. The question remains to what extent the social needs for participation can be fulfilled as well.