Canary Islands will donate 75 tons of canned chicken to the Family Care System of Villa Clara

The Canary Island Government plans to soon send 75 tons of canned chicken to the Family Care System (SAF) in the province of Villa Clara, Cuba, as confirmed by Digna Morales Molina, director of the Business Group of Commerce in that province.

According to the official newspaper Granma, the shipment will be allocated to various SAF centers operating in Villa Clara, following the same destination as previous donations from the Spanish archipelago.

Morales Molina specified that previously the Canary Government had already sent 48 tons of frozen chicken and another 5.5 tons of canned chicken, distributed among the various SAFs in the province.

In the most recent delivery, Canarias also donated an electric tricycle to ensure the distribution of supplies in the municipality of Corralillo, in addition to a power generator and an ice-making machine.

The Cuban SAF, created to assist elderly individuals living alone, people with disabilities, and chronically ill patients without family support, is experiencing a severe crisis: it went from serving 59,000 people in 2023 to about 67,000 by mid-2025, with between seven and eight new requests daily per municipality.

In March 2026, the Cuban state publicly admitted that it does not have a sufficient budget to support all vulnerable individuals of the SAF.

Villa Clara is one of the provinces most affected by the food crisis. In February 2026, local authorities restricted the sale of regulated bread exclusively to minors under 13 years old and those over 65, which reflects the level of shortages faced by the population.

In this context, the Canary Island donations provide direct relief to the most vulnerable Cubans who rely on the SAF social dining rooms to ensure their daily meals.

In February of last year, during the Day of the Worker of Commerce, Gastronomy, and Services held in Villa Clara, a public acknowledgment was made to Miossoty de la Caridad Paradelo Martín, General Director of Foreign Relations of the Canarian Government, for the support of that government to the commerce sector and to Cuban families in vulnerable situations.

On that occasion, Paradelo Martín recalled the historic migratory relationship between the Canary Islands and Cuba, which for decades led thousands of families from the archipelago to settle on the island and start families.

Donations of medical supplies and medications have also arrived from the Canary Islands to Cuban pediatric hospitals through the project "A Cuba Hay Que Quererla".