More people are skipping meals and selling off their assets to afford their daily expenses as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect citizens, according to a survey conducted by the World Food Programme.
The survey polled over 1,500 people or three weeks from January into February 2022 and found that food consumption had declined in T&T as citizens continue to struggle from the economic fallout of the pandemic.
“Food consumption and diets of people in Trinidad and Tobago continue to be impacted by the pandemic, with 30% of respondents skipping meals or eating less than usual, 29% eating less preferred foods and 5% going an entire day without eating in the week leading up to the survey,” the report stated.
The statistics showed a decrease in food consumption when compared with the responses given in the same surveys in 2020 and 2021. The World Food Programme said these results were common across the region. The ability to afford food was among the biggest concerns raised, as 98 per cent of the respondents reported seeing an increase in food prices two weeks before the survey.
In 2020, 80 per cent of the respondents reported seeing an increase in food prices and 65 per cent reported an increase in 2020.
The World Food Programme said T&T, Guyana and Jamaica were the countries where the highest increases in food prices were seen.
The survey also examined the coping strategies used by citizens and found that almost three-quarters of those polled were dipping into their savings for food.
Over half were sacrificing in other areas—such as health and education- to be able to afford food, while 39 per cent were selling off their “productive assets” to meet food and other needs.
With so many reporting being unable to afford food, access to nutritious and healthy food was also limited among respondents.
“Maintaining a diverse diet was not feasible for 61% of respondents, and 55% were not able to eat healthy and nutritious food in the first place. Only 23% of respondents did not experience any of the situations listed above.”
But while many of the responses were on par with responses from the region, the report found T&T was leading in the Caribbean in food insecurity. The data from the three reporting periods were examined using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES.)
“It is estimated that 51% of respondents are either moderately (20%) or severely (31%) food insecure in Trinidad and Tobago, a value that is 12% above estimates for the Caribbean average. Respondents with lower income levels are experiencing severe and moderate food insecurity, much more often than those with higher incomes,” the report said.
The World Food Programme also asked respondents whether they had food in their homes to last a week. Only 45 per cent of them said yes.
“This represents a decrease from 65% in June and 89% in April 2020. Similarly, an increased proportion of respondents (22%) reported to have no food stocks compared to those same survey rounds (11% and 2% respectively.)”
The report notes that some of this may be attributed to citizens no longer feeling the need to “stock up.” The World Food Programme believes people may not be able to afford stocking up.
“Of respondents with a perceived income of well below average, 40% had no food stocks during the survey and only 19% had more than a week’s worth of food stock, compared to 67% of households with an average income,” the report noted.
