Around the World with CFCA

People with the means to cope with rising prices experience the food crisis through the news.

But people living in poverty experience the food crisis directly—through their stomachs.

Take the story of Sandra, a 38-year-old mother of four who lives in El Salvador. She no longer can afford to buy certain food items. If it wasn’t for CFCA benefits, her children wouldn’t have milk to drink. Sandra makes about $6 a day selling lemons in the public market. When things get bad, the family eats tortillas and margarine for dinner.

In Kenya, 20-year-old Peter said his family can’t afford to buy bread. Meat? Only for Christmas, Kenyan Independence Day and weddings. Breakfast? Tea with milk and sugar.

In Antipolo, Philippines, 45-year-old Myrna is a mother of seven. She does laundry for $5 a day when her carpenter husband doesn’t have work. On days with lower income, the family eats porridge or skips meals. On paydays, they are able to enjoy rice with fish and vegetables. One of Myrna’s children is sponsored through CFCA.

Two mothers in Hyderabad, India—Bhulakshmi and Mani—said their cost of food has doubled in a year. They must be satisfied with rice and pickles because they no longer can afford fruits and vegetables.

These are the hidden faces behind statistics reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. The ERS compared expenditures on food in countries around the world (as a percentage of total expenditures using 2006 data—not including restaurant purchases):

United States         5.7%
United Kingdom    8.8%
Germany               11.5%
Chile                     23.5%
Mexico                  24.3%
Philippines            37.6%
Ecuador                 21.8%
Bolivia                   29.0%
Peru                       29.3%
India                      33.4%  

Wondering if there’s more you can do to help? Read about CFCA’s Food Crisis Assistance Fund.

To view the full U.S. Department of Agriculture report, click here.

Time.com published a photographic comparison of what families in different nations eat in a week’s time. Click here to see this photo essay.

By Monte Mace, writer and editor in the CFCA-Kansas City office. With reporting and photography from Henry Flores, El Salvador; Sister Joanne Gangloff, Kenya; and Maria Lourdes Navio in the Philippines.