Is it permissible to feed a poor woman and her orphans weekly from the atonement (fidyah) for fasting Ramadan to cover the days of atonement, or must a different needy person be fed each day? And are sugar, oil, and tea considered food like wheat and rice?

If the fidyah is for inability to fast (due to old age, chronic illness, or negligence in making up Ramadan fasts), then it is permissible to feed one poor woman and her orphans for the number of fidyah days all at once, and it is not required to distribute it over separate days. It is recommended to provide what the food needs in terms of additions.

However, if the fidyah is an expiation for intentionally breaking the fast in Ramadan, then it is obligatory to feed sixty poor people, according to the majority of scholars.