Spending cuts to European Union food aid programs could leave Portugal’s growing ranks of poor with even emptier plates.<\/p>\n
Western Europe’s poorest country is likely to lose 40 percent of 20 million euros ($27 million) in food aid it gets from Brussels every year, according to Isabel Jonet, who heads the Food Banks charity.<\/p>\n
Her institution supports 390,000 poor people out of Portugal’s 10.5 million population. They have been helped by the EU “Food for the Needy” program but it is due to be replaced by the Fund for European Aid.<\/p>\n
The new fund will have fewer resources for food, Jonet told Reuters. And the cash-strapped government has made no preparations to deal with the problem, she said.<\/p>\n
“Unlike in other countries, Portugal does not yet have a plan to make up for the changes or for a delay in the new scheme coming through, so there may be an interruption in our distribution of food,” Jonet said.<\/p>\n
The number of those in need in Portugal is rising as unemployment hit record highs this year.<\/p>\n
The economy has struggled through its worst recession in decades due to austerity measures imposed under a 78-billion-euro EU and International Monetary Fund bailout.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately more and more people need this help by the day. Although small, it makes a huge difference,” said a tearful Maria Mendes, 50, picking up food staples at a charity that caters for 300 people in Lisbon’s old neighborhood of Graca.<\/p>\n
Official data released in July showed that last year, 22 percent of the Portuguese were suffering from material deprivation, including almost 9 percent from severe deprivation.<\/p>\n
The minimum wage in Portugal is 566 euros a month, compared with neighboring Spain’s 753 euros.<\/p>\n
People are considered materially deprived when their income is not enough to meet basic needs like having a meal of fish or meat every other day, pay for rent, or warm their homes.<\/p>\n
The government says it is looking at the food aid issue but gave no concrete promises to answer Jonet’s concerns.<\/p>\n
“We are working to ensure that the funds are enough to keep such a fundamental project going,” Social Affairs Minister Pedro Mota Soares said. “Let’s finish the negotiation process in Europe and then we’ll see where we stand.”<\/p>\n
reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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