More and more citizens in Spain are forced to turn to organizations to put food on the table. It is also increasingly common for people on monthly wages to be forced to seek help because the money is not enough to pay both bills and food, Nyadagbladet.se reports(ER: browsers will translate)

In Spain, the so-called “hungry lines” have become commonplace due to the corona crisis and now the rapid price increases following the embargo against Russia. Citizens enlist the help of various volunteer organizations and queue to get food, as several families can no longer afford to support themselves.

Queues are long in Madrid’s working-class neighborhood of Aluche, and the mutual aid network distributes about seven tons of food to residents each week. In Aluche alone, around 350 households are being helped each week, but this number is expected to reach around 400 by the end of the year.

“Some beneficiaries have no income. But we also have more and more retirees with low pensions or people who work but whose salary is not enough,” Elena Bermejo, vice president of the organisation, told Euronews.

Hugo Ramirez, 44, is one of the receivers lined up every week. Both he and his wife have a job, but because of the price increases, their salary is no longer enough to support their three children.

“My wife works part-time with the elderly. I work as a construction worker and earn 1,200 euros a month,” he tells AFP. The rent is about 800 euros, plus other costs of 300 euros, plus food. It is not enough to reach the end of the month.

“We see prices rising every week, even for basic goods. We can’t take it anymore,” he continued.

According to official statistics, food prices in Spain increased overall by 15.4% in October compared to the previous year, the biggest increase in 30 years. According to a study published in 2022 by the University of Barcelona, ​​one in seven households in Spain face “food insecurity” due to a lack of healthy and nutritious products.

Ramirez compares this to the situation in his native Venezuela, which has experienced extreme inflation in recent years. He hopes things will get better in Spain, but he doesn’t think so.

“Everything is expensive, expensive, expensive,” he says.

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