“We are in a food crisis, which the government does not want to declare,” Fortunata Palomino told AFP as she cooked chicken in peanut sauce with rice and potatoes for 45 families in a dusty neighborhood in Lima.
“People don’t have to eat. There are children who are starving. In all areas of the periphery [de Lima]”The pandemic has made us poorer,” she added as she prepared 170 lunch rations for Villa Torre Blanca residents along with other volunteers.
This neighborhood of precarious houses, with agitated planks on the ground, is located in Carabayllo, on the northern outskirts of Lima, where many residents eat because of the common pots.
The same has happened in other neighborhoods since a quarantine in 10 regions of Peru went into effect on Sunday., including the capital, destined to contain the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic, which broke out in December.
“Common pots are organized as a food emergency support, because people during the pandemic and the blockade were left without savings“says Palomino.
Half a dozen women cook all morning for their low-income neighbors because of the prison, in a country hard hit by the pandemic, where 70 percent of jobs are informal.
“My husband works, I don’t work right now and we only support ourselves with the common pot and we need it because, you see, we are in an area of extreme poverty,” says Patricia de la Cruz, 37 years old.
It is the second quarantine that the people of Lima endure. The first, lasting more than 100 days (between March and June 2020) caused famine among thousands of families and led to the bankruptcy of many companies and companies.
“There comes a time with quarantine that is not being worked on, it is no longer where to start [dinero], it’s not where to eat, it’s difficult “Flor Mautino, 30, who, like other neighbors, goes daily to collect food for her family in small pots, says AFP.
Families who can pay one soil (27 cents) for each portion, dhelping to support this community initiative in the villa. Those who can’t, withdraw food for free.
“What I would like is for you to support us with food. We lack what is meat, to support people,” says volunteer Elizabeth Huacchillo, 39.
Peru has had high poverty rates for decades, but the problem has been exacerbated by last year’s long quarantine. Five million became poor in 2020, according to official statistics, so that now a third of the 33 million Peruvians live in poverty.
The Peruvian economy is in recession, and the authorities estimate that GDP will fall by 12.5% in 2020.
“There are 1,300 in Lima”
There are no figures on how many Peruvians eat from common vessels, but the government and the Catholic Church acknowledge the difficult situation and have promised to help common vessels.
“In Lima, 1,300 common pots have been registered, feeding about 130,000 families,” says Palomino.
This 56-year-old street vendor is now dedicated to free cooking for his neighbors and runs a “network of shared pots”.
These initiatives exist not only in Lima, but also in Huánuco, in the central jungle; in Chiclayo, on the north coast; and Huancayo, in the Andean mountainous areas.
“It is a great help to the people who live in this place of great need,” Flor Mautino told AFP at the age of 30, while he was queuing for food.
“I rely on ordinary pots, because the food is very expensive and I can’t work for fear of getting caught,” says Patricia de la Cruz, a 37-year-old mother who used to drive a taxi on a motorcycle. .
The municipality of Lima, together with the women’s group “Manos a la Olla”, is also looking to help the common pots with food.
In Chosica, east of the capital, the Church has launched the solidarity campaign “Sponsor a family” to support these initiatives in this second wave.
Peru has 1,158,337 covid-19 infections and 41,538 deaths, according to the official tally.
“It hits us hard”
At the other end of the city of Lima, in the Ciudad de Gocen district, they also organized a common pot that allows the survival of 93 people: the menu of the day is the (canned) tuna with potatoes.
“This second wave of pandemics and isolation is hitting us too hard. We need food to fill the vessels,” 30-year-old Johana Galán told AFP as she shelled 20 kilograms of potatoes.
This mother of two with an unemployed husband sold books before quarantine and is now a volunteer in this common vessel where her family eats.
In the dusty slum of Villa María del Triunfo, about 3,000 families live in precarious homes without electricity or drinking water.