MSC archived stories - December 28, 2019
Following my "A Great Puzzle..?" story (Nov 16, 2019), Gretchen Dellett, et al. have concluded their two-part series by focusing on Caregivers involvement in educating the families (of children in the malnutrition rehabilitation program) about healthy food choices and preparation. The article also highlights more than twofold increase in the use of fruits and vegetables to tackle childhood obesity.
[www.children.org/stories/2019/12_december/changing-diets-and-attitudes]
To the authors’ wellbeing formula (above), I'd like to add 'food preservation' as a way of overcoming family economic burden. The longer the food can be preserved it not only lasts longer but reduces the monthly bill, which makes sense for the poor.
As I look back on my past year, it reminds me of Estephanie who had left the area due to the very unfortunate increase of violence in the community. Part of her nutrition program, I gifted the family a brand new/modern fridge-freezer to keep the food fresher over a longer period. They had an old refrigerator (photo added to My Media), which was not efficient or costing more to run.
The mom stayed at home doing chores and usually helped with the family expenses by selling food. Every Friday, she cooked food to sell, like tamales, chuchitos, tostadas, atol – all which helped generate an income of approximately $27 per day. Also, I remember her telling me how apples lasted longer and fresher, thanks to their new fridge!
The fridge was an important part of the family economy as such when they moved between places for safety during the last 2yrs, it accompanied them too. In fact, I gave a special treat of fridge magnets with some of the past memorable photos to Estephanie as a reminder of our journey.
Happy Hogmanay from Scotland!
PS. Guatemalan delicacies:
Tamales and Chuchitos are both foods made from steaming corn dough. A tamal is wrapped in banana leaves whereas a chuchito is wrapped in corn husks. They are both filled with a tomato salsa and a piece of pork meat; Tostada refers to a flat tortilla that is deep fried or toasted; and Atol is a traditional cornstarch-based hot drink.
Wow - that’s amazing Chelaka! Very nice for them to have the new fridge.
ReplyDeleteDecember 28, 2019
I never even really thought about a fridge keeping food longer and generating an income. Out of curiosity, how much extra electricity does a fridge run?
ReplyDeleteDecember 28, 2019
The Borgen Project reports that refrigeration systems are a major problem in India. In a 2018 blog they report that in 2018, 70% of Indians had no refrigerator. 43% or the rural population and 13% of the urban population did not receive enough electricity to maintain a refrigerator. (borgenproject.org/cooling-in-developing-countries) The Indian Government is working to solve the problems of cooling food and living spaces through its National Cooling Action Plan. Not having adequate refrigeration for food not only affects individual families:it also causes serious food waste for grocers and for farmers whose food is spoiled/wasted before it reaches its destination.
ReplyDeleteDecember 28, 2019
Katherine, I think a large fridge will use about 180 watts or 1575 kWh annually. Multiply by your kWh rate to calculate the cost per year. Estephanie's MABE fridge is similar to -- [www.mabe.com.gt/refrigeradores/Detail/mabe-refrigerador-auto-rme1436vmxe0], which says.. “Energy saving up to 25%, better conservation and greater freshness of food, thanks to its cooling system.”
ReplyDeleteDecember 29, 2019
Nancy, Thanks for sharing the study done in India. I have also read the original article giving more in-depth look at the problem there -- [https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/et-commentary/the-hidden-truth-behind-indias-low-refrigerator-ownership]. One of the solutions might be to use "Zeer Pot" [www.borgenmagazine.com/what-is-a-zeer-pot]; [youtu.be/ZNKifJHqScc] – the same food can last for up to 20 days inside the pot instead of 4 days leaving outside, thus huge savings plus reduced waste!
ReplyDeleteDecember 29, 2019