Eat United takes a look at the communities we work with. Today's spotlight is on Villa Guadalupe.
Villa Guadalupe is home to former residents of ‘La Chureca’, the biggest dump in Managua. This community is home to people who formerly lived and worked on the dump making their living by picking through the rubbish. It was dangerous work exposing people to toxins and putting them at risk of injuries.
The creation of Villa Guadalupe was a joint project between the Nicaraguan and Spanish governments and included the construction of 200 cinderblock houses. A recycling plant was created at the dump, providing employment for residents.
Living conditions have improved, but Villa Guadalupe remains an extremely poor and vulnerable community experiencing social problems of drug addiction, alcoholism and low-levels of education and employment.
Food insecurity is rife here. We researched the food situation and found that 4 in every 10 families reported that their children regularly go without food for an entire day, while 8 out of every 10 families qualified as "Very Low" on the Food Security Scale; the lowest possible ranking.
The food rescued by Eat United is used for a community cooking day in Villa Guadalupe ran by the wife of a local pastor. Between 50-70 kids enjoy a healthy lunch every Wednesday made almost entirely from foods that were otherwise destined to be wasted. Any remaining food is shared with food insecure families in the community.
Feed Bellies Not Bins! Community Cooking Days.
We believe that everyone should have access to quality food, in sufficient quantities and we think it's maddness that perfectly good, nutritious food is being wasted in huge quantities from markets and supermarkets while people go hungry. Eat United is working to connect the two problems of food waste and hunger by saving food and sharing it with communities like Villa Guadalupe, where it's really needed.
We are currently aiming to expand into three more food insecure communities and we need your help to grow. If you think it is crazy that food is thrown away while people like the residents of Villa Guadalupe go hungry there are lots of ways you can support our work. Have a look around our website, connect with us on social media or contact us to find out about donating or volunteering.
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