Is the money paid as expiation for delaying the making up of Ramadan fasts sufficient, given the ignorance that it is not sufficient, or is it obligatory to feed the needy?

According to the majority of jurists, it is not permissible to give anything other than food for expiation (kaffarah). However, the Hanafis permitted giving the monetary value instead of food, justifying it by stating that the intent is to fulfill the needs of the poor. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah elaborated on this, explaining the permissibility of giving monetary value when there is a need or benefit, and prohibiting it when such a need or benefit is absent. Our advice to the questioner is to consider her situation: if giving money is more beneficial for the poor and more effective in fulfilling their needs, then it is permissible for her based on the opinion of Sheikh al-Islam. If the opposite is true, then it is safer to re-issue the expiation as food, which is more absolving for one's conscience.