Living on ration card isn't easy, but Cubans use ingenuity to feed families скачать в хорошем качестве

Living on ration card isn't easy, but Cubans use ingenuity to feed families

(3 Jul 2007) 1. Morro Castle in background with boats in Havana Harbour in the foreground 2. Street scene with pedestrians and traffic 3. Set up of AP Bureau Chief in Havana, Anita Snow entering her dining room with bag of groceries 4. Mid of Snow removing the groceries from her bag 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Anita Snow, AP Bureau Chief in Havana: "Well, I've just finished my last trip to the market this month on my Cuban food plan. I'm going to show you what I bought. This is a Yuca; it's a root crop and it's really delicious if you steam it with garlic and onions and oil. We have a big giant...wow a big Papaya. I love papaya, it's delicious. Then I bought a Boniato; this is a Cuban sweet potato. Sometimes they're white, this one's more red. You can cook these like any other potato; you can mash them, fry them." 6. Mid of groceries 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Anita Snow, AP Bureau Chief in Havana: "So, anyhow, this has been a really interesting experience, this last month trying to stay on a food plan similar to an average Cuban's. It's been really hard. It's been really interesting. It's been nice seeing how kind Cubans are sharing their food. They've given me recipes; they've shown me how to cook different things like the Yuca and the Boniato. I've just learned a lot about how Cubans live." 7. Mid of Snow walking into a market 8. Snow paying vendor 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Anita Snow, AP Bureau Chief in Havana: "I've discovered that these foods for Cubans are really kind of expensive, but they buy what they can with their small amount of pesos and they feed their families. There's nobody here dieing of hunger, but it's hard. It's hard to make ends meet. The Cuban government is in the process of looking at ways to increase food production and bring prices down. Cubans are very hopeful that perhaps some of these problems will be resolved eventually." 10. Wide of Old Capitol building and traffic 11. Mid of classic car and horse and carriage on Havana street STORYLINE: Cubans living on the food ration have to use ingenuity and organisation skills to ensure everyone gets enough to eat, says AP reporter Anita Snow, who lived on a similar programme for 30 days to see how residents of the communist-run island managed to get by. No one on the island dies from starvation, but it's not easy, Cubans say. Snow allotted herself the same items on the ration, plus an average salary of 350 pesos (16.60 US Dollars) to buy the rest of the food. During June, she ate little animal protein, no dairy products, very little fat, but consumed a lot of rice and beans. When she could she ate fruits and vegetables daily. By June 30, Snow had dropped nine pounds (four kilograms). Cuba's universal ration programme began in March 1962 to guarantee a low-priced basket of basic foods just as the US cut off trade with the island, sparking food shortages. Initially labelled as temporary, the programme remained in place as Cuba struggled to feed its people, turning to the Eastern Bloc in the 1970s and '80s for most of its food. Today, Cuba spends 1 billion US dollars annually to give the island's 11.2 million citizens a basic food basket, including rice, vegetables, potatoes, bread, eggs and a small amount of meat products. The government estimates the ration provides a third of the 3,300 calories each Cuban consumes daily. The rationed products, which cost consumers about 1.20 US dollars would cost more than 58 US dollars if purchased at the overpriced Cuban supermarkets for foreigners known as the "shopping," or about 50 US dollars at the average US grocery store. . Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...