People look for food scraps in garbage truck in Rio

A group of people was seen looking for food scraps in a garbage collection truck on Monday afternoon (11) in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

The scene was recorded by photojournalist Onofre Veras. In one of the images, it is possible to see five people looking for food among the garbage stored in the truck.

According to Veras, the scene took place around 2 pm on Rua do Rezende, central Rio. The vehicle collected food that would have been discarded by a supermarket.

With the advance of inflation and the loss of income of Brazilians, scenes like this spread throughout the country throughout the pandemic.

In 2021, a truck of bones and meat scraps began to be disputed in the south of Rio by residents who did not have enough money to buy food.

Other metropolises also registered queues in search of donations of remains of ox bones during the crisis. Residents of the periphery began to resort to chicken feet for food.

Currently, 33 million people are hungry in the country, according to the 2nd National Survey on Food Insecurity in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Brazil, released in June. The contingent is similar to that registered 30 years ago.

The poorest 5% in the country saw monthly household income per capita (per person) plummet to R$39, on average, in 2021.

The fall was 33.9% compared to 2020 (R$ 59). It was the most intense among the strata of the population investigated in a survey by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), the Pnad Contínua: Income from All Sources 2021.

As reported by the Sheetthe R$39 was not even enough to buy two units a month of the famous dish made, the pê-efe, in a metropolis like São Paulo.

Food inflation mainly affects the poorest, who have the least financial conditions to face the famine.

In 12 months until June, the food and beverage group accumulated a high of 13.93%, according to the IPCA (National Index of Consumer Prices), also released by the IBGE.

Among the foods surveyed, cucumbers had the biggest increase in the same period: 95.81%. Carrot rose 83.99%. Zucchini (82.99%), melon (78.37%) and potato (76.01%) followed.

Food got even more expensive in 2022 due to a combination of factors. One of them was the adverse weather.

Drought records in the South and heavy rains in the Southeast and Northeast have damaged crops. With the lower supply of part of the products, there was a pass-through to prices.

According to analysts, the famine was intensified by the increase in the costs of transporting goods, as fuels have soared recently.

The Ukrainian War also had an impact on prices by raising prices for agricultural commodities and oil.

Inflation on the eve of the electoral race became a headache for President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The situation is seen by members of Bolsonaro’s campaign as the main obstacle to reelection.