In the first half of 2025, Cuba's food crisis has evolved from a situational challenge to a persistent humanitarian emergency. This alarming transformation has been highlighted by the Food Monitor Program (FMP), an independent organization dedicated to monitoring food (in)security on the island. Their comprehensive report, titled "State Neglect Worsens Hunger in Cuba," was shared on social media platforms.
According to the FMP, hunger in Cuba can no longer be attributed to external or temporary factors. Instead, it reflects a failed economic model and a government that has forsaken its fundamental duty: ensuring access to essential goods and services. The organization emphasizes that the chronic shortage of food and nutritional poverty have become the norm, impacting millions across the nation.
One of the most striking symbols of this collapse, the FMP notes, is the ration book system. Once hailed as a tool for equity and food security, it now merely administers chronic scarcity under a bureaucratic guise. It fails to provide access to basic nutrients, instead organizing a systematic shortfall.
Impact on Cuban Households and Nutrition
The situation is even more dire when considering nutritional data. The FMP warns that an average Cuban household of four people receives monthly food rations that cover only 20% to 30% of the daily caloric intake recommended by the World Health Organization. Caloric poverty, once an exception, has now become a normalized aspect of daily life.
School meals further illustrate this decline. The FMP criticizes the food served in many schools as not just lacking nutritional value, but as a form of humiliation, undermining the physical and mental development of children. Instead of providing a secure environment for youth, schools mirror the broader shortages impacting the entire population.
Widespread Public Discontent
Civilian complaints paint an even more harrowing picture: spoiled food, minimal rations, and the consistent absence of essential products are now everyday occurrences. Meanwhile, the government either remains silent or perpetuates a narrative of stability that, according to the FMP's latest survey, 96.91% of the population refutes, citing challenges in accessing food.
The fragile import framework exacerbates this collapse. With 70% to 80% of Cuba’s food being imported, financial shortages, deteriorating infrastructure, and frequent blackouts worsen the situation. Simultaneously, domestic production is nearly at a standstill. Outdated agricultural equipment, unproductive lands, and policies that stifle private initiative have left the countryside barren and agriculture in decline, with production drops as steep as 67% in recent years.
The Dollar Economy and Social Disparities
The government-imposed currency stores have deepened inequality further. In today's Cuba, having a decent meal depends on access to dollars, turning hunger into a form of social and economic segregation. "Hunger not only deteriorates bodies," warns the FMP in the concluding section of their report, "it also breaks bonds, dissolves life projects, and erodes public trust in the state, its institutions, and the future."
Rather than being a transient emergency, hunger in Cuba represents a profound fracture in the social fabric. If not addressed with responsibility and political will, this fracture could expand to the point of becoming irreparable. Previously, the FMP had warned that food insecurity in Cuba had shifted from a cautionary signal to a distressing reality: one in four residents has gone to bed hungry in recent months.
Alarming Statistics and Public Health Concerns
The report "Hunger in Cuba (2024)" is based on a Food Security Survey conducted between May and June of that year, covering 2,703 households across all provinces, including the Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud. Official data analyzed by elToque identified malnutrition as a leading cause of death, accompanied by the collapse of the prison system where, as Cubalex reported, inmates have died due to extreme hunger and neglect.
Food insecurity is evident on the streets as well. Reports of fainting from hunger have emerged from multiple provinces, affecting the elderly, youth, and women. Many citizens survive on one or two meals a day, relying on street-level solidarity or begging. Even individuals with physical limitations or former combatants seek help with signs reading "This is for food," as documented by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights.
Recently, the FMP also highlighted that over 9 million people in Cuba are cooking under precarious, unsanitary, and hazardous conditions. This figure stems from the analysis of the latest Cuban Census of Population and Housing and FMP's own studies, estimating that approximately 1.7 million households use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), another 2 million rely solely on electricity, and about 220,000 use manufactured gas for cooking.
Cuban Food Crisis: Key Questions and Insights
What factors have contributed to the chronic hunger in Cuba?
The ongoing hunger crisis in Cuba is attributed to a failed economic model, governmental neglect of basic duties, and a reliance on imports for the majority of food supplies, compounded by financial shortages and infrastructural issues.
How does the ration book system impact food security in Cuba?
The ration book system, once a means of ensuring food security, now organizes chronic scarcity rather than providing essential nutrients, serving as a bureaucratic tool amidst widespread shortages.
What are the implications of Cuba's import-dependent food system?
Cuba's heavy reliance on imported food, exacerbated by financial constraints and infrastructural decay, significantly contributes to the nation's food insecurity and hinders effective crisis management.
How has the food crisis affected Cuban society?
The food crisis in Cuba has led to widespread caloric poverty, disrupted educational nutrition programs, and heightened social and economic inequalities, challenging the cohesion and trust within Cuban society.