Virus sparks increase in demand for food banks in Lima

After the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency on March 16, may community kitchens closed, and the number of homeless people looking for food has increased.

REMAR, a Christian charity organization is the only one offering food on Lima streets during quarantine to people in need.

Many of them are street vendors who cannot sell anymore because the quarantine has completely wiped out day and nightlife in the city.

REMAR director in Lima, Miguel Mate, said that before the quarantine they provided 250 lunches, but these days they have increased to 500 more dishes due to the hunger that plagues many poor workers.

One of them is Milagros, a 46-year-old mother of three children, who says the police have arrested her three times because she tried to sell candy, but now she can't do it because of the lockdown.

She hopes the government will provide her with 108 (US dollars) to survive until the end of April.

Peru Social Research organization IPSOS found last week through an online survey of 1,000 people across Peru, that over a third of the Peruvian population (35 per cent) has stopped receiving any kind of income.

According to a report last week by the International Labour Organization, COVID-19 have destroyed at least 14 million jobs in Latin America, especially in sectors like trade and services.

The World Bank projects the pandemic could cause a 4.6% GNP decrease on Latin American and Caribbean countries.