REISTERSTOWN, Maryland — Mexico is the “second-largest economy in Latin America,” according to the World Bank, boasting a population of roughly 129 million people. While the economy has grown by more than 3% since 2022, this country continues to experience extreme setbacks to its overall growth. According to a study by Oscar A. Martínez-Martínez and others published in 2023, more than 50 million people currently experience food insecurity in Mexico, with another 10 million of the population unable to secure food for days at a time. Among those most vulnerable to this food insecurity worldwide are women and girls, who are an important focus of the nonprofit organization, Women Forward International. With its mission to “advance women to advance humanity,” Women Forward International partners student research teams with volunteer-powered organizations that supply nutritious food to targeted areas in need.
Dr. Kent Davis-Packard, founder and director of Women Forward International, explains the importance of alleviating food insecurity in Mexico for women and girls especially, as it exacerbates inequality and vulnerability. “When you cannot eat, you can’t really do much else,” Davis-Packard told The Borgen Project, “And when we resolve this basic issue, we enable women and girls to take all the other steps that will enable them to become equal, and also contribute to their communities, which brings all of us up, men, boys, women, girls.”
Food Insecurity
According to a 2022 estimate by the USDA, more than 1 billion people worldwide are experiencing various levels of food insecurity. Contributing factors include insufficient income, poverty, lack of housing, discrimination or health issues. Latin America holds the second highest rate for food insecurity, with an estimated 29% of its region suffering from food insecurity.
Gendered Gap
A survey by the State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition revealed the disparity between women and men, with 31.9% of women worldwide experiencing food insecurity as compared to 27.6% of men. This gendered gap has increased from 1.7% in 2019 to 4.3% in 2022, showing that “globally and in every region, women and girls eat the least and last.”
Women experience food insecurity at higher rates due to gender and wage inequality, which affects accessibility to health and protective resources. As detailed by Concern Worldwide, women complete “2.6 times more unpaid domestic work than men,” but are paid more than 20% less than men globally. Women also experience “harmful gender norms,” which prevents continuous, nutritious eating when men are “prioritized at mealtimes.”
Effect of Gendered Gap
As the gendered gap increases, women and girls become more susceptible to experiencing a “violation of other fundamental rights,” which puts education and safety at risk.
When forced to give up their education to aid their families, girls become more susceptible to child marriage and sexual violence. Girls and women also become more likely to suffer anemia or experience fatalities due to lack of necessary nutrients.
Estefania Rodriguez, a member of the student research team at the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico, expands on this. “The socioeconomic conditions in these situations are always overwhelming and sometimes not having enough income to satisfy the basic needs can lead you to desperate decisions,” Rodriguez told The Borgen Project.
Women Forward International
Women Forward International is a nonprofit organization that recognizes these inequalities and is taking action to address food insecurity in Mexico. As Veracruz is one of the “most underserved regions” in Mexico, this organization has opted to pilot a food rescue program inspired by the White Pony Express model in California.
WFI has brought on a student research team at the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico, which is working in collaboration with the University of Veracruz. With the support of the community, this program will address food insecurity in Mexico with the use of a volunteer-powered organizational model. Named Alas de Amor, this model will transport, package, sort and distribute healthy, fresh food to 11 localities.
In charge of this research are five women from the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico at the Azcapotzalco campus. Consisting of three phases, this program has completed a feasibility study, identifying Veracruz’s needs and the potential donors, such as churches, grocery stores and restaurants. In the second and third phases, the implementation plan will be developed, which will identify the volunteers that will distribute the food. These volunteers will come from community organizations, churches, rotary clubs, universities and TC Energy.
Once research is complete, this program, through the support of TC Energy, will use the proven volunteer-based model from the White Pony Express to pilot it in Veracruz. The program will go into effect by 2024, with the first food distribution to begin by February, continuing on a timely basis. If necessary, the organization will adjust the program according to the needs of the Mexican community.
The Program’s Purpose
“Our goal includes not only providing the families with donated food but also showing them how to prepare them in a healthy way, and, in a short term, add to the program an educational phase where we can teach them to build urban gardens,” explains Rodriguez. “We want women and girls to be autonomous and we hope we can give them the tools they need to do so.”
But, the program’s purpose extends beyond merely providing food — “it is about providing love,” one of the mottos of the White Pony Express. Davis-Packard reminds us, “Love gives its best.” Davis-Packard elaborates: “This means that no food or supplies will be given that we would not give our own families, as it is now time to recognize one another as one human family.” This was the central principle put forward by the founder of the White Pony Express, Dr. Carol Weyland Conner. Women Forward International’s work is to amplify this new form of philanthropy with a special focus on women and girls.
Future Goals
One of Women Forward International’s goals is to extend this program addressing food insecurity in Mexico to other Mexican regions in need, following its institution in Veracruz.
“We need this program in Mexico to create a community, to see each other with empathy,” Rodriguez states. “We know that collective problems need collective actions, and this is one of them. It is not just about food insecurity, it’s about building an alternative world full of mercy, empathy, love and care.”
– Kristina Gaffney
Photo: Courtesy of Women Forward International