Martín Grosz
02/27/2020 - 21:47
- Clarín.com
- Society
The Government set it as a priority and set the plan in motion at full speed. The objective is ambitious: to protect two million vulnerable children from hunger . The tool: the massive distribution of cards only valid for food purchases, which are recharged every month with $ 4,000 for families with only one child up to six years or with $ 6,000 pesos in total for those with two or more children those ages The first plastics were given in December, in Concordia. Now there are more than 600 thousand cards Feeding in operation, and deliveries continue, aiming to close the month with 70% of the covered pattern.
As the first challenge - the deployment - seems to be almost overcome, now, little by little, the focus goes on to another of the goals that had been set: that as much of the help as possible be used to buy these kids healthy food. This will not be so easy, according to nutrition experts. In principle, the limit imposed by the amount of the subsidy, not always enough to cover the high costs of a complete and balanced infant diet.
A Basic Food Basket, according to Indec, cost in January $ 2,720 for a three-year-old boy and $ 3,200 for one of five. For that combo of products, which nutritionists define as very unhealthy and barely of survival , the amounts of aid seem to reach. But the budget is much tighter compared to the price of a healthier basket.
This is shown by a survey of the Center for Studies on Food Policy and Economics (CEPEA) and the Department of Economics of the School of Nutrition of the UBA, which Clarín agreed to. The study, done this month in Capital, calculated that an ideal diet for a child aged 3 to 6, based on the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and international recommendations, costs $ 4,500 (or $ 150 per day) . Amount that can go down to $ 3,600 (or $ 120 a day) if only purchased at fairs and Price Care products and third brands.
Thus, with some family effort in "walking", the subsidy ($ 4,000) would be sufficient, in theory, so that whoever has only one young child can feed him according to healthy guidelines. “The money can reach or not, according to what proportion of the acquired it is destined to feed the child - it is never the total - and according to where it is bought . Some parents find fairs or places with affordable prices nearby, but in certain places they will go to stores or self-service stores where buying healthy food at a good price can be more difficult. Sometimes accessing a fair means taking a collective , which also takes money, ”said Sergio Britos, director of CEPEA, author of the work and member of the technical table of the Argentina Plan against Hunger.
However, where the healthy account does not close directly, it is in the case of families that must divide the state contribution ($ 6,000) between two or more beneficiary children, given that they would only have $ 3,000, $ 2,000 or less to go to Everyone's diet in the month.
"We estimate that between one third and 40% of the population reached is in this situation, while the rest have only one child of six years or less," said Britos. He indicated that the basket they relieve is much more expensive than that of INDEC because the latter includes many foods such as baked goods, potatoes and common cereals, and few of the highest nutritional quality and price, such as dairy, fruits and vegetables .
The Basket Healthy Children armed for work provides every day a glass of milk, yogurt, 4 or 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a small portion of meat and 60 grams of whole grains, ranging from rice or wheat pasta, oats, pasta or semolina noodles, legumes and their flours.
To that add 65 grams daily among common cereals (rice, flour, pasta), potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, bread or crackers crackers. And, only a portion a day in total for products that are only indicated for "occasional consumption", such as sweets, candies, sweet cookies, baked goods, soda, cold cuts and processed meats.
According to the report, for a child to eat like this for a month, $ 1,635 per month must be spent on dairy products , $ 965 on fruits and vegetables, $ 670 on meat and eggs, $ 690 on less recommended foods and $ 540 for food. remaining If only the “highly nutritious” component of the basket is taken, the minimum that can be spent, “walking” in search of low prices, is $ 2,800, they detail.
“The income of $ 4,000 per month is not low to start the plan. The key is that their purchasing power be maintained over time, ”said Britos, who remarked that there is still a lot of education and dissemination work so that the beneficiaries can easily know, when buying, what are the most convenient foods to take care of the health of their children. This, he says, faced with overweight levels that reach 40% among schoolchildren.
There are still no data representative of the use that is being made of subsidies throughout the country. Only a small sample was disseminated, made in part of the Conurbano in seven days of January, where 42.8% of the products purchased were healthy (58.1% of the expenditure) and 25.5%, unhealthy (17.8 % of expense) .
The Food Card is given to beneficiaries of the Universal Child Allowance (AUH) with children up to six years, beneficiaries of the Pregnancy Assignment and people with disabilities who charge AUH. None should do paperwork: they receive an appointment to remove the plastic and can immediately spend the balance on food and beverages, with the sole exception of alcohol. And only in premises with posnet.
