Hunger in Latin America has been growing for years. Even prior to the COVID-19 crisis, people in the region have struggled to afford nutritious foods or have lacked access to food altogether. According to data collected by the United Nations in 2019, 28.5 percent of South Americans and 39.3 percent of Central Americans have experienced moderate-to-severe food insecurity in their lives. With the onset of a global pandemic, UN representatives now fear that “if projections continue […] we could be going back to the [malnutrition] levels of the 1990s.”

The situation is not for lack of food in Latin America – which is the world’s mo