Thoughts on Food

It has been a month of slower moving here in Mabibo. May marked the end (for the most part) of the rainy season and it also marks the end of Gonzaga's inaugural semester. We held our first Gonzaga Day yesterday - a day of celebrating the feast day of our patron saint. The actual feast day is June 21st, but as we will be on June holidays, we chose to mark the end of classes with the celebration.
One piece of news that has affected us here in Dar has been the recent rise in food prices. While the increase does not seem to be closely linked to the factors listed as having an impact on the global food crisis (Dar's price increase has been largely attributed to road washouts, thereby preventing the transportation of food), the parallel timing as we have watched prices rise has provided some timely reflection.
Compared with Western societies where household budgets normally allocate 15% of their income for food, households in developing nations, I have recently learned, may set aside as much as 80% of the family budget for food. We have felt a bit of the strain of the recent increase in our JV community, but even so, we still only set aside 25% of our monthly budget for food and so we have plenty of wiggle room with which to work. Our neighbors can't speak of the same luxury.
Where we have three separate sources of consistent income, many of the households in Mabibo have a single earner in the house (normally working in the less-than-reliable informal sector) and that person is usually supporting a spouse, at least three children, and perhaps other relatives, such as parents or siblings, on an income that may be slightly higher than 150,000 shillings a month (approx. 130$). Therefore, four tomatoes that once cost 200 shillings (about 20 cents), but now cost 300 or perhaps even 400 shillings become a part of the diet that is quickly cut out and is substituted with more rice or ugali (maize flour mixed into boiling water), which is filling, but may be lacking in nutrition value.
Tanzania is not being hit as hard as other countries during this global crisis, but even so, the recent strain has put a noticeable stress on the families who rely on the consistency of the market. While I was aware of some of the realities that are linked with poverty, living in Mabibo during this time has, as I mentioned, provided some timely reflection and has awakened me in a new sense to the harsh truth that is hunger.
I ask that we may keep those who regularly go without food, both at home and away, in our prayers this month and that we continue to act mindfully as global consumers.