Buckets of Food: Rescuing Families from Food Insecurity in Honduras

In an effort to address food insecurity in Honduras, CAMO launched an initiative in 2022 aimed at providing buckets of nutritious food to vulnerable families in the western part of the country.Over the past year, the Nutrition Program has delivered more than 2,670 food buckets.Communities affected by the lack of access to adequate food receive buckets containing pork, barley, rice, and oatmeal bars to meet basic nutritional needs.

These food buckets act as medicine for those suffering from hunger.

Due to the deficit in rural areas and the high cost of healthcare services, the Nutrition Program seeks to assist economically disadvantaged patients with some degree of malnutrition. These patients face nutritional insecurity due to the lack of available food, worsened by pre-existing conditions that deteriorate their nutritional status and quality of life.To mitigate these issues, donations of medical foods or supplements are made, along with providing education and nutritional counseling.

CAMO brings its Nutrition Program to the communities through the donation of food buckets provided by HarvestCall.

A direct impact on the lives of those in need.

In a nearby rural community, lives a mother and her two children, all with special conditions. María Rosario, at 75 years old, is the only person who can care for her children, who have disabilities.With one son bedridden and another affected in his development by epilepsy, many nights, María Rosario and her children have gone to bed not knowing what they would eat the next day.

Through a partnership with CAFICO, a coffee cooperative, CAMO managed to reach María Rosario’s home with food buckets, which have become a nutritional relief for her household.María Rosario said they usually only eat breakfast and dinner and expressed her gratitude for CAMO’s nutritious food.

A joint effort

Bianca Ramírez, CAMO’s nutritionist, highlighted the positive impact the buckets have had on the lives of Honduran families.“For many families, these buckets are their only meal during difficult times,” said Ramírez.

To access the benefit of food buckets for six months, families must belong to a family unit in extreme poverty and be one of the following: an abandoned elderly person, a single mother, a widower or widow, a person with a disability, or an underweight family member .These conditions ensure that support is directed to those who need it most, guaranteeing an improvement in their food security.

In the current phase of the project, work is being done in coordination with local governments and allied institutions in eight municipalities in western Honduras.