Chile: because of the coronavirus, soup kitchens are taken by storm

Text by: Justine Fontaine Follow

2 min

The health crisis has also rekindled hunger in Chile. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of soup kitchens across the country has exploded. The phenomenon does not only concern poor neighborhoods: the middle classes have also fallen into precariousness. And we saw reappear images never seen in the country since the crisis of the 1980s, under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.

Publicity

From our correspondent in Santiago,

In a still confined municipality, in the north of the capital Santiago, a dozen people, all masked, are lining up, saucepan in hand. People like Ana Caceres, 66, a former domestic worker. “  I have been coming since the soup kitchen started here, because my husband lost his job in March and has a very modest pension. So far, he hasn't received any state aid, and neither have I  , ”she explains.

► Read also: Coronavirus: Chileans have started to tap into their retirement savings

"Thanks to this, we have to eat every day"

A feminist collective launched this soup kitchen in April and currently serves around 100 meals every day. This Wednesday, it's baked potatoes and sautéed vegetables. Rodrigo, 41, is one of the volunteers. “  Here, in the commune of Conchali, there are around 30 soup kitchens. We do not receive any help from the state or the municipality. We only receive donations from residents, often small traders,  ”he confides.

Essential help for Scarlett, who also lost her job due to the health crisis: “  We don't have any money, so where are we going to find food? she asks. It's a great initiative, because thanks to it, we have to eat every day.  The volunteers, always concerned about health rules, also distribute meals at home for the elderly and patients with Covid-19. They are prohibited from leaving their homes.

Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Chile
• Coronavirus
• Health and medicine

On the same subject

Chile: abortion made more difficult and dangerous by the Covid-19 pandemic

Coronavirus: Chileans have started to dip into their retirement savings

Chile: with the coronavirus pandemic, the “So safe” app finds a new use