The official press defends the work of the Family Care System, but the food is far from being the least bit healthy
14ymedio, Havana, 1 October 2024 — If a balanced diet were made up of soup and bread with pasta, the State would not have to use so many resources to justify its precarious attention to “vulnerable people” and “social cases.” An article published this Tuesday in Invasor attempts to defend the social attention of the regime, which claims to “offer food guarantees, no matter how difficult the situation is,” but the reality the article depicts is different.
In Ciego de Ávila, the business group of Commerce, Gastronomy and Services manages 58 food distribution establishments which, however, accommodate only 1,118 diners from the Family Care System (SAF). The diet, according to the official newspaper, includes “rice, proteins, soups or stews, meats, salads and desserts” but, taking into account that “practically one hundred percent of what they offer is self-managed” and that they cannot charge more than 13 pesos per dish, it would be difficult to find two of these foods together in the same meal.
Amid the alarming State shortages, the provincial governments are forced to resort to all kinds of entities and companies that can provide them with a meal – regardless of its quality – to feed the “vulnerable.”
In a country that, after decades of scarcity, has lost all notion of gastronomy – and even its own cooking culture – meals are far from making up a nutritious dish.
In a country that, after decades of scarcity, has lost all notion of gastronomy – and even its own cooking culture – meals are far from being a nutritious plate. “Different types of bread with prices between 40 and 70 pesos, such as bread with pasta, with mayonnaise or with croquettes, as well as other more expensive ones, with Viking ham and sausage roll” is what is offered in “both in the Gastronomy cafeterias and outside of them, in districts, vulnerable neighborhoods and schools.”
To the cocktail of fats and sausages, are added chemical-based soft drinks, “Coral and canned drinks,” which are sold not only to the poor, but also in state hostels, “at municipal fairs and fairgrounds that exist in the main city, districts and Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.”
In the entire collection, there is no mention of foods that really form part of a healthy diet, such as fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts, cheeses, milk and natural drinks or shakes. Among the soups, peas – the legume of the poor – are the main ingredient on the tables of schools and hospitals, along with broth. Both, generally, are devoid of seasoning or substance.
“Sale of soups and pea stew at prices between 15 and 30 pesos per serving, white rice at 40 pesos,” lists the state offering that rarely includes any cuts of meat because, if it did, it would be impossible for the authorities to maintain low prices.
Some 15 companies from Ciego de Ávila are also responsible for providing food to the poor. “The Arnaldo Ramírez agricultural company sells in the towns of Ognara and Trucutú, La Cuba does so in Pesquería, the Agroindustrial Ceballos in the neighboring town, Ruta Invasora in Jicotea, Acopio in the neighborhoods of the city of Ciego de Ávila and the Turiguanó livestock company in the town of the same name,” says the newspaper. The mystery, however, lies in what foods they offer – if they depend on their own preparations – and what their cost is.
“Sale of soups and pea stew at prices between 15 and 30 pesos per serving, white rice at 40 pesos”
Only the information from the State company Acopio includes some data. “They deliver around 800 servings of soup a week. In addition, from Tuesday to Friday they hold fairs in places that are difficult to access to bring the products to families and in order to benefit teachers and health personnel, they go to universities, schools, hospitals and homes for children who lack parental care.”
According to the article, the authorities are not sitting around with their arms crossed. But in a country where the average monthly salary is equivalent to the price of a carton of 30 eggs, and shortages have driven many foodstuffs off the market, it is hard to believe that those with fewer resources can afford something resembling a “balanced diet.”
In an article published in February, 14ymedio reported on the situation of the Family Care System facilities in Holguín. “Sometimes there is no protein, although in the canteen where I work the workers are quite combative and they fight with the people from the municipality to get supplies, but it seems that it is becoming more difficult for them to get them,” said Tomás, an 81-year-old man, speaking to this newspaper. At that time, some 76,175 Cubans were registered with the Family Care System and attended the 445 canteens of this type on the Island.
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