Alum’s Book Examines Cultural Impact of Food Rationing in Cuba.

In 2008, School of Public Health alum Hanna Garth (SPH’06) set out to Cuba to examine food consumption practices amid the country’s nationalized food rationing system. For the next 11 years, she conducted research and spoke with numerous families about the challenges they experience in acquiring enough food for family members each month.

On January 7, Garth published a book called Food in Cuba: The Pursuit of a Decent Meal, which details the personal reflections of these families and their struggles in accessing affordable, quality food—as well as culturally relevant food—under the country’s state-run rationing system, which was implemented in 1962, after the Cuban Revolution.

“There is a strong entitlement system in Cuba—everyone is eligible for a food ration that provides them with their basic daily needs,” says Garth, who is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, San Diego. Cuba’s food system is generally lauded for preventing malnutrition and hunger, but the monthly portions that each citizen receives is still not enough to survive comfortably.

“The people I encountered either didn’t have enough food, or the kind of food available to them was insufficient for their dietary and cultural needs,” says Garth. “I became fascinated with this problem.”

Sanctions imposed by the Trump administration last year have in part contributed to Cuba’s current economic crisis, which has led to increased food shortages throughout the country.

“Although there’s always some foods that are available, other items that are really important to people’s diet and culture, are not available,” says Garth.

Meat—a common staple among Cuban dishes—is scarce. Beef is rarely sold in stores, and families experience long periods without chicken and fish, says Garth. Sometimes the only meat option for purchase is low-quality pork, such as bologna or sausages. Eggs are also a preferred breakfast food, but it can be hard for people to find them, as well. Bread, rice, seasonal fruits, and at least one type of bean are plentiful, and Cubans can supplement their meals by shopping at privately owned produce markets, but the food items at those markets are usually expensive.

“As a result of food shortages, people become dissatisfied that they are unable to eat what they’d normally eat for a certain type of meal, and they also worry that this will affect their nutrition,” says Garth.

“When people expect certain food items to be available, and then they’re not, this propels people into panic mode as they try to figure out what they’re going to eat as a replacement,” she says. “People can go a day or two without chicken, but the idea that they have to go a month, or several months, without it makes people very stressed about how they’re going to substitute dietary alternatives. They worry that they’re not receiving the appropriate micronutrients and amino acids in their diets.”

Lack of adequate nutritional food particularly impacts Cubans with chronic diseases. Garth says that although Cuba has a robust medical system, occasional shortages of certain medications prompt doctors to advise patients to manage symptoms with diet.

“I’ve encountered diabetic patients who were unable to access insulin and were told by providers to reduce their carbohydrate (sugar) intake,” she says. “It’s very difficult to do that when people are eating mostly bread, rice, and beans.”

Limited food options also mean that people are unable to make culturally significant dishes such as ajiaco, a common soup in Cuba, that consists of chicken, potatoes, and herbs.

“Parents worry that their children will not be familiar with this culturally significant dish, and that it will have long-term repercussions on their cultural identity,” says Garth.

Garth explores all of these challenges in her book through a framework she calls “the politics of adequacy.”

“I use this framework to understand what makes provisioning systems sufficient for people to not just survive, but also live a quality life that they desire,” she says. “Cuba’s food system is sufficient for preventing hunger, but it does not enable people to rely on basic needs being available to them at any given time.”

To purchase Garth’s book Food in Cuba: The Pursuit of a Decent Meal, click here.

—Jillian McKoy