Initiatives in many parts of the world show how community-run projects can successfully prevent hunger. In a district in the east of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, a group of women leads the food cooperative Unidos San Agustin Convive, which is providing food to the city’s population entirely independently from intermediaries and big companies. Venezuela is among the ten countries worst affected by food poverty at the moment, caused by ten years of U.S. sanctions and a rise in the price of oil. COVID-19 has deepened the crisis by pushing the price of food up while wages have dropped. “The minimum wage in Venezuela is around $2 a month, which is not enough for a basic family food shop,” says Martha Lia Grajales, co-founder of the cooperative. Founded in 2016, it sources produce directly from farmers and organizes distribution as part of the Pueblo a Pueblo (Town to Town) program. At weekly assemblies the members discuss their activities, distribute food at substantially lower prices than in supermarkets, and host a large communal meal.

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