Bean Crisis

Rice and beans are consumed in great quantities in Honduras.  They are staples.  Recently we began to have trouble buying beans.  One day when Nicole went to town to buy the food for the feeding center, she said the market was out of beans.  The little pulperias were out of beans, too.  We were still finding plenty at PrcieSmart, though they were going up in price. 

Wednesday, when I bought groceries for Casa, beans were on the list.  I cannot remember the last time beans had been on the PriceSmart list, because we buy them from a local vendor that comes to the gate selling them.  As I pulled the cart up to the beans, I noticed there were not many.  I called Nicole to ask here if she wanted me to go ahead and buy some beans for the feeding center.  Before she even answered her phone, I saw a sign had been placed over the beans that said "one bag per membership."  I told her why I was calling and said never mind.  I bought one 20 pound bag of beans.  That won't last long here. 

By the time Nicole got to PriceSmart on Thursday, she could only get 10 pounds of beans.  Trust me, that will not last long at the feeding center.

With airport runs and such, we have decided to hit PriceSmart every time we go to town and try to get some beans.  With the children's home and two feeding programs, we need beans.  We are also changing the menus to something that does not include beans.  At the dump, we will be feeding arroz con pollo ( chicken and rice) one week and spaghetti the next and alternating between the two.  At the feeding center, we will be adding another day of soup.

Please pray that this crisis ends soon.  Many will lack needed protein without beans and probably cannot afford other sources of protein.