Zakat-ul-Fitri (Zakat Fitrah)

3) Zakat-ul-fitr (Zakat Fitrah) Payment Using Staple Food

عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ: فَرَضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ زَكَاةَ الْفِطْرِ صَاعًا مِنْ تَمْرٍ أَوْ صَاعًا مِنْ شَعِيرٍ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ وَالْحُرِّ وَالذَّكَرِ وَالْأُنْثَى وَالصَّغِيرِ وَالْكَبِيرِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَأَمَرَ بِهَا أَنْ تُؤَدَّى قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ النَّاس إِلَى الصَّلَاة

Ibn ‘Umar said Allah’s messenger prescribed as the Zakat-ul-Fitr payable by slave and freeman, male and female, young and old among the Muslims on breaking the fast of Ramadan a ¹sa' of dried dates or a sa' of barley, and gave command that this should be paid before the people went out to prayer. 

(Bukhari and Muslim.) 

Mishkat al-Masabih 1815

https://sunnah.com/mishkat:1815

https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1503

https://sunnah.com/muslim:984a

Other sources:

https://sunnah.com/nasai:2504 

¹The Hijazi sa' is described as a measure equivalent to 4 mudds, 1 mudd being the amount a man with average size hands can hold with both hands extended. 

In the context of our Asia region, our staple food here is Rice 

Imam Syafie رحمة الله does not allow the payment of zakat-ul-fitr using money, while Imam Hanafi رحمة الله allows it. However, with the wisdom and knowledge of the Islamic religious councils of our respective countries, they issued fatwa that allowed it for the benefit of the community. 

There are groups of our brothers who still personally distribute rice to the needy families.