59 to families with children over six years old who are still eligible for the Universal Child Allowance, along with increasing the monthly allowance. Especially pertinent is increasing the age limit for children’s families to receive this food assistance. If families are faced with economic hardship and an inability to provide even the basic necessities for their children, this will not change once the children are older than six. They likely would be pulled from school at a certain age to help pay for a family’s expenses by working in the informal economy. Additionally, the food card allowance covers only 11% of the expected monthly expenditure on groceries. If raised, it would further decrease the financial burden that food-insecure families face. In combination with food waste reduction, the long-term economic effects of immediate action on these measures would include an increased wage potential through children no longer being subject to stunting as discussed previously. A third method currently utilized to challenge consumer food waste in Argentina is under way in the city of Buenos Aires. There the school system is collaborating with the UN FAO to teach primary age children about the best methods for handling food waste. By starting with younger students, officials are hoping that they can empower the next generation of Argentinians to not overbuy and then subsequently have to throw out expired food, but they also hope to change how they view food with small impurities. Additionally, they are teaching families best methods for disposing of food waste, hoping that some will choose to compost instead of throwing it away in order to curb some of the negative environmental impacts. While still in progress, the University of Bologna conducted interviews on food waste before this program began and is planning to after it ends to measure its impact (C40 Cities, 2017). These various programs all have their own means and expected results. With waste audits, key points in the supply chain from growers to groceries can be targeted, the implementation of which should decrease food waste where it is most concentrated. For food stamps, increasing access means that families in poverty will have the liquidity necessary to purchase food, allowing them to have money to spend on other essential items, such as education and health care. Results from the food stamps should show that if prices remain high due to export taxes, food consumption will not continue to go down. Changing individuals’ perceptions of food waste will change their consumption habits at the food store. By buying only what they need, instead of throwing out what they do not consume, more food will be supplied at all times. Collectively, these programs could have significant impacts on food availability, if made available on a widespread basis and monitored appropriately. Possible Impact of COVID-19 In the context of the current Argentine debt crisis and the ongoing impact of COVID-19, expanded funding of these programs is questionable. In the early onset of COVID-19, nearly half of Argentina’s virus cases were in shantytowns. The health crisis became so dire that the government erected security fences to prevent inhabitants from leaving these villages and potentially infecting others. This action exacerbated the poverty of those living in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, with some individuals reporting they had to sell almost everything they owned to afford to eat. However, COVID-19 is not just impacting those in extreme poverty. In fact, in June of 2020 the Catholic University of Argentina reported that 48% of the population was living in poverty (Misculin & Lobianco, 2019). UNICEF projected that 63% of children would live under the poverty line in Argentina at the end of 2020 due to the widespread loss of income for families. Additionally, those who are dependent on the government for at least one meal a day have increased by 40% since the start of the pandemic (Alcoba, 2020). COVID-19 has proved itself a large obstacle that is offsetting immediate progress toward eliminating food insecurity in Argentina. That said, with poverty percentages as high as they currently are, every effort must be made to find, and fund, solutions, if Argentina is to emerge from this period of widespread hunger.
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