Odalis Viera has just left a supermarket in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida, with the intention of buying everything she needs for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner, but she confesses that she has not been able to buy everything she needs because of the prices they are very high
“At the moment everything is very expensive and that is affecting me a lot because between market prices and rental prices, my money is not enough to make all the payments, apart from gasoline,” he told the voice of america the Cuban, who has been residing in South Florida for several years.
Inflation, protagonist of Christmas dinner
The inflation rate in the United States has decreased by a few tenths, from 7.75% to 7.11%. Now the figure is very similar to that of the same period last year, when it stood at 7%. Despite this, economic experts warn, the prices of basic products are still very high, so the increases in costs will once again have an impact on Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinners.
Although prices were increasing last year due to the end of the pandemic and the increase in consumption, the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had not yet been felt, which caused a general increase in costs, especially for crude oil, gas and electricity.
food banks
In South Florida, various charitable and local government organizations continue to promote food banks for the most vulnerable population, especially on these very important dates.
“We are delivering some 7,000 Christmas bags with 25 kilos of food to the most needy residents of the district. The bags include a pork leg, as well as many ingredients to prepare traditional meals during the festivities”, explained Joe Carollo, commissioner of the City of Miami. He assures that it is “the largest distribution of food that is made in the state of Florida”, it has an approximate cost of 100 dollars per bag and that it should serve, according to him, to help the population that is suffering the ravages of the price increase.
Many of those who come are from minorities, mainly Hispanics, who typically work in more unstable and low-paying economies. Faced with this situation, many of them explain that this Christmas is being “complicated” because they are practically “living from day to day” and without the ability to save.
Vladimir Martínez, a Venezuelan who arrived in the United States six months ago, was confident that things would improve. But it has not been that way.
“The economic situation is very worrying, and having these types of initiatives is an excellent idea to better cope with this season,” said the man, who, despite the economic uncertainty, now values ”family and health” much more. after getting sick from coronavirus.
Joel Ricardo, another Venezuelan based in South Florida, is also turning to these food banks in the hope of being able to put some food on the Christmas table. He recently lost his job and, in the same vein as the others who queue at the food bank, he says that the outlook is “unfortunate” because “there is no end in sight in the short term”, in relation to economic uncertainty.
“This is crazy and it is unfortunate. Everything is very expensive and the prospects are not very good, so we will have to tighten our belts and leave everything in the hands of God”, said the man, one of the first to arrive at the place, resigned.
“The help we provide is especially important this year, when many people are suffering from the high costs of inflation, excessive rent increases, high gasoline prices and the escalating increases in the cost of food,” he said for his The Miami commissioner reports on the negative consequences of this economic scenario among the population.
Increased inequality among minorities
The most recent report from the Census Bureau and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), with data from September 2022, reveals that food insecurity in US households remained between 11.6 and 10.2%, while the national poverty radius stands at 12.8%.
Although there are signs of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, “substantial gender, race, and ethnic gaps persist.”
“Since the start of the pandemic, 74.7 million people have lost their jobs, with the majority of jobs lost in sectors that pay below-average wages. Many of the people who lost their jobs are running out of money and savings,” says a recently published report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Lena Simet, a researcher on poverty and inequality at HRW, warns in that same investigation that “millions of people in the United States face a situation of poverty and hunger that could be prevented”, in part, thanks to public aid.
The Census Bureau warns of the serious problems that the most vulnerable families in the country are facing. “Among households with incomes of less than $35,000, 47% of adults report that they are behind on housing payments, while 25% say they have difficulties obtaining food,” reads the HRW report collected by the VOA.
“32% of low-income adults said they had felt depressed in the past seven days. These low-income households urgently need a comprehensive rescue plan,” stressed the international organization.
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