Poor people who have to access the products through the queues because I see that the fastest queue is 6 hours.
There is nothing to decide, you buy what there is
Ismael Fajardo, fifty-seven years old, unemployed, lives in Havana with his wife, a health professional.
Approximately how much do you spend in a month to guarantee your family's diet? How much of your income does it represent?
The spend of the month varies, but I can say, for example, that I received 400 MLC on July 26 and on October 6 I reached zero. In general more or less 200 MLC.
How much of your income does it represent?
My income is variable, I cannot record it well, because my children support and cover my food needs. It's been almost two years since we left home due to the pandemic. My wife, the person with an employment relationship in the household, earns 4460 CUP.
How do you access food and in what percentage? (grocery markets, organic farms and fairs, black market, shipment of combos from abroad, purchase in MLC stores, labor incentives, others)
I access food through the black bag and the combos that my children send me from abroad.
How many hours do you spend searching for and buying these foods?
I don't queue. Poor people who have to access the products through the queues because I see that the fastest queue is 6 hours.
Do you use social networks to find out about supplies and prices in your area, for example, via Facebook or Telegram or WhatsApp groups?
Yes, I use the networks, because combos don't always bring everything.
If you had to divide your diet, how would you describe your intake of animal protein, vegetable protein, carbohydrates? For example, how many times a week do you consume: fish, red meat, white meat, dairy products, eggs, vegetables?
Consumption is very difficult. I haven't eaten fish for more than 5 months, the last time because it came in a combo that was sent to me from abroad with a string of 8 little fish. Red meat the same situation: 2½ kg that came in the same combo. Of white meat there is only chicken for Cubans, who have already given it the distinction of national bird, hehehe. Dairy products are only available in the black bag and are very expensive: a 1-kg bag of powdered milk costs between 300 and 350 MN pesos, 1½ kg of yogurt costs around 90 MN and eggs are delivered between 10 and 15 per month per person. The vegetables? it
same as the other products: the huge queues, and in private businesses the prices are sky high: 1 avocado today costs 30 MN, 1 bunch of beans that does not reach ½ lb costs 25 MN and so on, chard, quimbobo, chili. A pot of ice cream that I cannot calculate the weight of, you can only imagine the amount [referring to 10L containers], around 30 MN, all of this in private businesses, resellers, etc.
Of white meat there is only chicken for Cubans, who have already given it the distinction of national bird
What are, in your opinion, aggravating factors that you face daily when it comes to ensuring cooking? I'm thinking about the affectations for basic service of water, gas and electricity.
I have no affectations of that type, but there are problems with the spices for the elaboration.
Who do you think is today guaranteeing the right to food in Cuba, the State or the family?
In my family, my children are the ones who sustain and cover those needs.
Do you consider that, when shopping, you must decide between one basic food or another? Do you think you are buying food at a fair price?
There is nothing to decide, you buy what there is because there is no other option. The prices are not fair and they go up more every day.
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