The other side of the meal card

20 de June, 2018

Currently, the meal card is understood merely as a means used by companies to pay their employees a meal allowance, with tax and social benefits for both parties, generating more disposable income for both.

However, this reflection is only one side of the meal card. Through the information aspects, it is possible to reveal the other side.

The securitization of social benefits, such as the meal allowance, allows its holders greater autonomy of choice and the adoption of healthy eating habits, since, in the form of a title, employees receive the full amount of the meal allowance, which must be used exclusively for the purchase or consumption of food.

In recent years, Edenred has been working hard to ensure that meal card holders move from theory to practice in adopting healthy eating habits. Since 2009, Edenred has been committed to this mission through the “FOOD” – Fighting Obesity through Offer and Demand – a global programme created by Edenred with the support of 26 organizations, including the European Commission and the Directorate-General for Health.

In this preventive fight, the meal card is an element capable of bringing together three important ‘players’ in the community: restaurants and other establishments with a food CAE, companies and the working population, which has made this fight an initiative with a significant impact on society.

However, the other side of the meal card is even more profound and has made its mark in other fights, such as the fight against the unregistered economy, since it allows all transactions to be traced, thus minimizing cases of non-compliance with the tax rules determined by the state.

When the two sides of the meal card are analyzed, the other side turns out to be much more present in the daily lives of all of us: companies, employees, restaurants and the state, than it might seem at first glance.