My visit was limited to work in their capital city of Lima. My hosts tell me that the degree of poverty and the need for food is far greater outside of Lima. My impressions of Lima are of a city that has the appearance of poverty that is far greater than the larger cities of Colombia, Mexico and South Africa.
There is no school lunch program and only a limited distribution of food for school breakfasts, (primarily milk). It is generally agreed that 50% of the citizens live well below their “poverty line”, which again is lower than other poor countries that I have visited.
I visited a shelter for homeless men located in a very poor section of Lima. This shelter offered only the most limited facilities and food. Many of the men that I saw had very serious health issues. I also visited one of 5,000 “Mother Clubs”, (similar to the “Communities” we saw in Mexico) that serve Lima’s poor. Each Club provides a place for the poor to secure a hot meal for an extremely small cost. Each Club provides service to 150-250 people. The Shelter and Mother’s Club receive their food from Ciudad de Dios’ Food Bank. With some development and renovation, this food bank could be equipped to support a medium sized operation.
I am working with our in-country partners to develop a plan for the timely creation of a National Food Bank System and for the development of a model for Community Food Banks throughout Peru. I have offered assistance as a mentor and counselor. We can share a number of our documents, (donor pledge, member agreements, national system designs, etc.). They are very appreciative and want our help. I believe we can also assist in contacting our Grocery Products partners, (like P&G), coordinate with other Food Banks, (Colombia) and help with discussions with their National Government.
