Florida Catholic | Rising Prices In Haiti Turn Hunger Into An Epidemic

Rising prices in Haiti turn hunger into an epidemic

Florida Catholics react with special collections and ongoing relationships.

DEACON JEAN E. DESMORNES AND NICOLE ROMÁN | SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC

Published: 05.21.08

A few weeks ago, less than 700 miles away from Florida, riots erupted in Haiti as people demanded that their government provide them with food. The violence was precipitated by the extreme rise in food costs across the globe, which is putting adequate nutrition – or mere access to food – out of reach for more and more of the world’s population.

“As food prices increase, desperation is spreading among the poor and working poor all the way up to the working class. … It’s partly that frustration that led to the confrontations,” said William Canny, Catholic Relief Services’ country representative in Haiti.

Long before the rioting began, the Food and Agricultural Organization had classified Haiti as a low-income food deficit country, with an estimated per capita intake of only 460 calories per day. The recommended amount for proper health is at least 2,100 calories daily.

Constant hunger is not new to the people of Haiti. In Creole, words such as asid batri (battery acid) are heard in the streets to describe the pain caused by such lack of food. With this spike in food prices, what will happen when a people who have so little already are left with even less?

“We have a deeply entrenched poverty situation here in Haiti. … This matter is urgent, as the nutritional status of tens of thousands of Haitians – which is already precarious – is going to slip further,” said Canny.

Haiti has long dwelled in misery, but government instability since the mid-1980s has made the situation much worse. Right now, 90 percent of Haitians live on $2 or less a day, making them unable to purchase food for themselves and their families. Haiti is also extremely dependent on imported food shipments.

As the cost of food around the world spirals upward, Miami Archbishop John C. Favalora has called for a special collection for the church in Haiti as a way for the local community to work together toward food relief.

“As brothers and sisters in the Lord, it is our duty to make a charitable response to their needs and to stand in solidarity with them,” Archbishop Favalora said.

Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito has called for a similar collection in the Palm Beach Diocese, which would benefit the hungry in Haiti as well as victims of natural disasters in Myanmar, China and Oklahoma. No diocesewide special collections for food relief for Haiti were scheduled elsewhere in the Florida Catholic’s circulation area as of May 19, but ongoing efforts in parishes that have developed ministries or sister parishes in the Caribbean country were being ramped up throughout the state. Christ the King Parish in Tampa and St. Columbkille Parish in Fort Myers, are examples.

Donations received by Catholic Charities’ Office of Social Advocacy of the Archdiocese of Miami or the Palm Beach diocesan Finance Office through the special collections will be used to provide food assistance to Haiti through Catholic Relief Services, the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States.

In partnership with the Missionaries of Charity, Catholic Relief Services will oversee the distribution of food in Haiti. The aid will be distributed through voucher and cash transfers, food distribution to urban families and support to farmers, food-for-work programs, and by increasing school feeding programs.

The vouchers and cash transfers ensure that resources go directly to households, providing a family with enough food for a month at a time, for four to six months altogether.

The food distribution to urban families and support to farmers is aimed at providing short-term food security. Meeting this emergency will reduce the pressure families face when having to choose between paying school fees for their children or sacrificing their children’s future to pay for food during this period of instability. This aid is designed for a four-month time frame, during which Catholic Relief Services will evaluate how farmers and families have used the funds received.

Food-for-work programs last about six months and target many of the most affected and vulnerable neighborhoods. This aid will also help put out-of-work youths to work in jobs such as canal cleaning, street cleaning and other development activities that local authorities and community leaders have identified. Catholic Relief Services will monitor the program to ensure the food is properly administered and the rations are having an impact on the lives of the beneficiaries.

School feeding programs lessen the effects of undernourishment in children who may not be receiving adequate food at home. Catholic Relief Services works within the National Program for School Cantines to offer meals and snacks to almost 10,000 children daily. The plan is to expand Catholic Relief Services’ involvement over a full school year and increase the number of parent-teacher groups whose members oversee the distribution of meals.

With more than 50 years of experience, Catholic Relief Services serves 250,000 of the poorest and most marginalized in Haiti. The support of local churches and communities enables this mission to continue.

Deacon Desmornes and Roman work in Catholic Charities’ Office of Social Advocacy in the Archdiocese of Miami. Florida Catholic special contributor Janet Shelton and Linda Reeves and Bob Reddy of the Florida Catholic staff contributed to this story.

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