What you describe seems like the status quo system: the state distributes food and shelter to people directly (through food stamps and council housing). The idea of basic income is that it is much more efficient if the state redistributes _money_, and then everyone can buy food and shelter using money.
Given that we have no distribution system in place, it is true that if the state redistributes money, that is a more efficient way to go. However, you slightly missed my point. I'm not talking about a system that gives you vouchers. I'm talking about a system that gives you FOOD. This isn't food stamps, this is a system that lives outside of the economy. You don't pay for food, you don't have a "quota". Everything is centralized. Basically, this removes the need for brick and mortar grocery stores, and ends our dependence on large companies like Wal-Mart, et. al., to sell us our food.
