When I was a child I helped out with the handing out of, yes, government cheese, dried beans, rice, etc. Those sort of staples ought to be what is provided to the poor. That seems so simple and obvious to me.
I remember those programs. Typically, the turnout in inner cities was better to vote than to collect free cheese and rice. The neighbors doing the distributing also knew the people who were trying to collect double and told them to beat it. Not anymore.