Charity-run kitchens in Havana feed a growing number of Cubans as crisis deepens

HAVANA — Every night, hundreds of people line up outside a charity-run food pantry in the heart of Havana, some sleeping on the sidewalk as they wait for what may be their only meal of the day.

When the doors open at 7 a.m., people hurry inside carrying numbered plastic containers. With so many mouths to feed, volunteers follow a carefully organized routine: They wash the containers, call out the numbers and hand out portions of food.

“We’re having a really rough time,” said Fernando Fernández, a 71-year-old retiree who regularly visits the Asociación Quisicuaba, a group that runs a community kitchen in Havana. “I have to arrive in the early morning. Sometimes I even have to get in line the day before.”

Fernández, a former cook and security guard, is among a growing number of Cubans struggling to feed themselves as the country’s prolonged economic crisis deepens, worsened by U.S. energy restrictions, inflation and dwindling government resources.

As the state struggles to provide subsidized food, charity-run kitchens and food pantries have become a lifeline for vulnerable Cubans, including retired doctors, teachers and former government workers. Supported by religious groups, international aid organizations and the United Nations, they provide what…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world