Bahamas Hunger Statistics

Given the dearth of research relating to statistical information on poverty and poverty alleviation efforts in The Bahamas, the task of first identifying and then tracking the hunger problem here is arduous.

Unfortunately, hunger is a humanitarian obstacle that has historically challenged and continues to challenge communities across the globe. The day when every Bahamian is given the opportunity to eat three meals a day, will also be the day that Hands For Hunger is no longer needed.

Until, this time however, given the subdued economic conditions and the fundamental structural inefficiencies and inequalities in food distribution, we anticipate that the number of people hungry in our community will not decrease significantly in the near future.

According to the International Development Bank (IDB) Living Conditions report conducted in 2001:

• 9.3% of the Bahamian population lived below the poverty line and the rate of unemployment stood at 10.2%
• An estimated number of 30,960 Bahamians lived in poverty i.e. survived off of $2,863 per year [1]or less ($7.84 per day).
• 34% of poor youth (ages 19-24) were unemployed and out of school
• High levels of youth poverty: 50% of the poor are children ages 14 or under

Doesn't the Government Operates Programs to Provide Assistance Right?

The Current government food assistance program offers "long term monthly food coupons to eligible (unemployed or low expenditure[6]) pensioners and invalids and short term monthly coupons to others."
These coupon amounts range from $50-$120 per month (per person) but the estimated food poverty line is $280 per month, which means that the maximum food assistance contribution represents only 18% of essential food expenditures.

• Approximately 11% of Bahamian Households were eligible for this program in 2001
• Aside from the Food Assistance Program, the only other source of aid is the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which is open to "children identified as undernourished and recommended by medical authorities, school administrators or social workers." [3]
• The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is only administered to 43 schools in New Providence.
• Of those Bahamians identified as “lowest expenditure households”, only 55% are aware of NSLP
• Even more striking is the fact that only 5-13% of the identified relevant student population actually participate in the program.

Since 2001, conditions have worsened:

• Since 2001, the rate of unemployment in the country has risen to above 14%
• Food Prices have increased
• Over the course of 2007-2008, the price of food (all types) in New Providence drastically increased. Staple items such as: Rice, Cooking Oil, Flour and Bell Peppers rose by an average of 37%.[2] [3]
• Despite this food price inflation, average salaries stayed constant throughout[3] 
• According to a 2008 H4H survey of service agency representatives, the number of people in need of emergency food services (as measured by requests for food assistance) has risen considerably by an average of 20-100% since 2007.
• The number of people requesting social service assistance from the Bahamas Government increased by 50% throughout 2009 to 12,000. [2]
• As of June 2008, there were approximately 100 social service programs that provided regular feeding services (not including smaller church pantries). On average, these programs provided 150 meals/week (ranging from 50-700). [5]
• A Large # of agencies are reporting the desire to expand their feeding programs (by # of people served per meal or # of meals served) if additional food supplies were available
• The Poverty Rate is estimated to have risen since 2001 due to the weakened economy, job losses and cost of living inflation without provisions for associated indexing of wages
• Prevalence of food insecurity expanding beyond lowest income Bahamian groups to “working class”
  

Note: Due to the social cultural stigma associated with asking for help in The Bahamas, it is very possible that those experiencing food insecurity outnumber those actually seeking assistance from social service programs


[1] This figure is taken from the 2001 Department of Statistics/IDB Living Conditions Report published in 2001. The daily income is calculated by dividing $2,863 by 365 days in year.

[2] Nassau Guardian 2008 Super Value: Rice +37%, Cooking Oil +60%, Flour +42% and Bell Peppers +10.6%.

[3] Nassau Guardian, 2006, Cost of Living Series (Part 1) Prices of rice, beans and fruit have risen 50% over the last yr due to factors outside of the Bahamas' control.

[5] Number of social service programs with feeding programs estimated based on list of registered NGOs from the Department of Social Services combined with H4H's research over past 8 months.

[6] Low expenditure individuals are classified as persons earning less than $150 a week (about $7,800 per year).