Rising food prices are being noticed everywhere. We go to the store and realize our small pile of groceries in the shopping cart will cost over $100. It adds up fast:
- Milk: $3.50/gallon
- Eggs: $2.50/dozen
- Beef: $8.00/pound
- Cereal: box is 50% thinner
- Orange juice: $7.98/gallon
We grimace, pay the bill, skimp a little bit here and there, and move on. We hardly know what it means to go to bed hungry. Less thinkable yet is the fear that our children might die from lack of food.
“Today we did not eat anything, and we do not know how to continue to live” -Kyrgyzstan
In many places across the globe, the pain of rising food prices goes much deeper. Some people are simply unable to buy enough food. One family from Kyrgyzstan said, “Yesterday we ran out of food. Today we did not eat anything, and we did not know how to continue to live.”
A widow and mother of six children stated, “If it were not for the help of believers, [we] would probably have starved to death.”
Hotspot countries facing crises
India continues to suffer from the ongoing economic fallout of COVID-19. Lockdowns destroyed important business infrastructure and the country’s poor have struggled to recover.
Ukraine and Russia export 30-40% of the world’s grain supply. Since the war, Ukraine exported very little grain. In some African countries, wheat prices tripled.
In Yemen, years of violence are devastating the economy, displacing millions, and pushing food prices out of the reach of many. Spiking global grain prices are adding further strain.
Syria has faced years of civil war. Although much of the fighting has subsided, the economy is in shambles. In fact, our contacts report more difficult circumstances than during the war.
In regions of Kenya, a famine brought on by three years of little rainfall is causing widespread suffering. Crops are drying up and livestock are dying.
In response to cries for food from various countries, CAM developed the World Hunger Fund.
Through your generous support, we are able to provide ongoing food-related assistance in Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, and various other countries. Most funds donated to the World Hunger Fund are used to purchase food. We also support projects that enable people to grow or produce their own food.
