Food crisis grips Jamaican homes, report finds

“I shop for food far less. I can’t buy fruits for my kids, and that hurts. My kids are hungry most of the time … ; can’t afford gas and electricity bills. Sometimes we sleep in darkness. First in my life I have to be living like this.”

That was the response of a 43-year-old Jamaican who participated in The World Food Programme’s (WFP) survey which was administered in January and February, representing 6,000 households across 22 countries and territories.

Four in every 10 Jamaicans have reduced their food consumption and some 98 per cent of Jamaicans who participated in the survey said there has been an increase in food prices.

As a result, nine in every 10 Jamaicans surveyed have changed their shopping behaviour.

Almost two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic repercussions continue to take a toll on livelihoods, incomes, and food security in the Caribbean.

In its Caribbean COVID-19 Food Security & Livelihoods Impact Survey for February 2022, WFP reported that despite signs of recovery, the overall picture remains “deeply troubling”.

Food insecurity remains a significant concern, with an estimated 2.8 million persons in the English-speaking Caribbean estimated to be food insecure.

This represents an increase of one million since the start of the pandemic, with severe food insecurity increasing by 44 per cent compared to a year ago.

“The number of severely food insecure has increased since February 2021 from 482,000 to 693,000 people, highlighting the growing severity of impacts,” the WFP said in its report.

WFP, the food-assistance branch of the United Nations, explained that rising food and input costs are contributing to the growing level of food insecurity.

“The Caribbean is at a tipping point for food security. The continued economic impacts of COVID-19 risk widening existing inequalities and supply-chain disruptions will be compounded by the global reverberations of the Ukraine crisis,” the report detailed.

More than 90 per cent of respondents reported higher than usual food prices, an observation that is more widespread compared to last February.

“At the moment, my household has little to no income. Sometimes we have to skip meals in order to have something for the next day. The bills do come monthly and it’s so hard to pay them,” a 30-year-old Jamaican respondent said.

One third of people reported challenges accessing markets in the week prior to the survey, primarily because of a lack of financial means.

WFP said respondents are increasingly buying cheaper and less preferred foods and in smaller quantities than usual.

Nearly half of lower-income respondents reported having no food stock at home.

Furthermore, participants said they have resorted to severe actions, with 70 per cent drawing on savings to meet immediate needs, nearly half reducing education and health spending and over a third selling productive assets.

“The resources that people have are not going as far with increasing food prices. On top of these unsustainable measures, they report skipping meals, going to bed hungry and being worried about feeding their families,” said the report, which was released on Tuesday.