Hunger in Guatemala

A number of articles have come out recently on the food shortages and malnutrition affecting Guatemala (“Malnutrition in Guatemala: A National Shame,” The Economist; and “Mueren de hambre in Guatemala,” BBC Mundo en Español). While serving there in the Peace Corps, I knew malnutrition was a problem, but I never realized how serious it was. According to Unicef, almost half of the children in Guatemala are chronically malnourished. In some rural communities, child malnutrition reaches 80%.

And now, thanks to the global recession, higher food prices and reduced remittances coming from family members working in other countries, millions are at risk. Coffee Kids’ partners in Guatemala understand the problem and are managing a variety of projects to help increase food security and economic independence in their communities, but they need your help.

Check out more information on our partners in Guatemala on our program page and learn how you can donate to Coffee Kids and help.

Kyle:  Thanks so much for this important post and your reflections on hunger here in Guatemala.  More importantly, thanks to you and Coffee Kids for your efforts to do something about it! 

I work for Catholic Relief Services, and we are working hard here in Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador and Nicaragua to help more farmers participate in the markets for Fair Trade and organic coffee.  We know that increasing household income is a critical element of the food security equation--farmers can’t eat the coffee they grow, but they can use proceeds from its sale to buy diverse and nutritious foods.  Unfortunately, even Fair Trade and organic markets can’t always ensure that farmers earn enough to meet the basic needs of farm families, as a recent article in Time magazine suggested (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1926007,00.html).  We are increasing our food security work here in Guatemala in response to the situation you address in your post and looking for other ways to help coffee farmers make ends meet beyond increasing their participation in Fair Trade and organic markets.  Thanks for your efforts to do the same, and for reminding conscious consumers out there that buying certified coffees is just the first step in a lasting enagement with coffee farmers. 

Michael