Bargain Box meals, such as this chicken korma, usually cost about $95 for three days worth for a family of four.

My Food Bag-supplied parcels may work out to be a better deal for beneficiaries than standard food grants, the Ministry of Social Development says.

It is running a trial in which a Bargain Box-style kit, supplied and delivered by My Food Bag, is offered to some Auckland households applying for emergency food grants.

They can choose whether they want the bag or a grant from which to buy their own food.

While Bargain Boxes normally retail at $95 for three meals for a family of four, the kits for beneficiaries contain food for three meals a day for a week, and increase to fit the size of the number of people receiving them. They are estimated to be worth $200 to $300 depending on the size of the household.

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Hardship grants for food paid on to a ministry payment card are generally proportionate to the amount of days remaining until a person's next benefit payment.

Stuff Ministry of Social Development hopes to create a better experience in Work and Income offices, starting with Wellington's Willis St.

The number of grants for hardship assistance has increased over the last five years. There were 573,588 grants granted in the September 2019 quarter, more than double the number in the September 2014 quarter.

To buy food was the most common reason for needing assistance, although, in dollar terms, more money was handed out for emergency housing.

Viv Rickard, deputy chief executive of service delivery at the Ministry of Social Development, said it was hard for people without access to transport or supermarkets to find nutritious and affordable food. Having a kit delivered could overcome that problem.

"To offer those families another choice we're doing a voluntary trial of an optional bargain box of basic food for all meals and recipes for a family for seven days. We always expected the box will work for some whanau and not for others.

"We're trying something new for the people we're trying to help and continue to welcome feedback on whether the bargain box suits them or not."

The trial is being run in Clendon, Manukau, New Lynn and Three Kings and up to 1000 kits will be delivered to families who choose them.

"The trial will be wrapping up early next year and we will be reviewing feedback then. We are not committed at this stage to wider implementation."

My Food Bag referred questions to the Ministry.

Researcher Rebekah Graham said the intentions of the trial were good.

But she said many people who were surviving on low incomes were also concerned about things such as the power that would be needed to cook the meals.

"Food is a deeply personal thing…it feels like another way to avoid giving people money."

She said people who were on a benefit were usually very good budgeters who were good at making money stretch and understood how to efficiently use the food they had to feed their families.