Based on the theory of patronized goods, the development of “state guardianship” in the field of ensuring food security of the population is considered, taking into account its correlation with the size and differentiation of income. The principles and mechanisms of domestic national (for example, the United States) and supranational (for example, the European Union) state food aid to the poor and other vulnerable categories of the population in developed economies are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the organizational, financial and socio-redistributive aspects of aid, ensuring its targeted nature and linking it to the level of income, the combination of monetary and in-kind forms of aid, the “pairing” of food aid with state support for agriculture, the role of NGOs/NPOs in the systems of state food aid. The necessity of food aid as an important element of state guardianship of the modern market economy, partially compensating income and social inequality, minimizing social deprivation, is substantiated. The article shows the fundamental difference between such assistance and the card distribution system, which is associated with insufficient supply and balances it with demand using noneconomic methods. The article considers the formation of the national food aid system in Russia, and suggests ways to develop it taking into account the updated Doctrine of food security of the Russian Federation and the consequences of the coronacrisis.