ˈmeal ˌticket noun [countable]

1. informal something or someone that you depend on to give you money or food:
There were times when he suspected he was just a meal ticket to her.

2. a card that you buy and then use to get meals at school or work, or at a special event:
The meal ticket is $15 and includes three meals with beverages.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

meal ticket
someone or something that you use as a way of getting regular amounts of money for the rest of your life.
Gone are the days when a university degree was a meal ticket for life.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

meal ticket
a thing or person that someone uses to get the money that they need to live
The woman's nursing degree is her meal ticket to a flexible and good life.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲