Long lines for food on Rio’s President Vargas Avenue as hunger grows with pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Readers who pass downtown Rio de Janeiro’s Bibliotheca do Parque on President Vargas Avenue may have noticed a large line forming at lunchtime.

With unemployment and underemployment having increased due to the effects of the pandemic, both because of lockdowns and general economic disruption, increasing numbers of people rely on charity for their daily meals. Concurrently, donations to food charities have dropped dramatically during the pandemic.

Typically those who received food charity in the center of the city were the homeless, but since the pandemic began more and more people who have lost their jobs or have had their earnings decreased have begun to turn to food charities.

In addition, homeless people who previously relied on begging or spare food from restaurants to survive, now find themselves without this option as commerce has largely been closed; even when open, leftovers are far less than they typically were in the central districts of the city. All these factors have increased dependence on food donations.

The operation at Bibliotheca do Parque, known as RJ Alimenta, began in August 2020 in response to rising levels of hunger in the city. Hunger affected 19 million Brazilians last year, 9% of the population, the highest level since 2004 and almost double of 2018 (10 million).

The program RJ Alimenta was intended to run for 6 months, but in February it was extended due to continued need. To date, over 1 million meals have been distributed by the program. There are also food programs operated by religious organizations and other charities in Largo de Carioca and Lapa.

While all this has been happening, there has unfortunately been a huge drop in donations to such charities. Ação da Cidadania in Gamboa used to distribute up to 80,000 basic food baskets per month: this has decreased by a factor of 10 to 8,000. The same economic effects prompting people to seek food charity have also meant that the disposable income and financial stability of those who once donated has caused them not to.

Another factor contributing to this situation is the cost of basic foods. Since the beginning of the pandemic the price of many of the simplest foods has increased dramatically. Rice and beans, the main Brazilian staples, have increased by a shocking 60% since the beginning of the pandemic and as a result over half of Brazilian have some degree of food insecurity.

This means they either don’t have enough food, don’t have good quality food, or don’t have any food at all. Rio de Janeiro has seen a 50% surge in the price of rice, which is lower than in many other states, though the 80% increase in the price of beans is the highest in Brazil.

In addition, people are replacing meat with eggs to save money, thereby increasing the price of eggs and causing further problems. Most of those suffering food insecurity manage at home, or depend on family or neighbors for help, but many of those most severely affected inevitably end up at programs such as RJ Alimenta.