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The National Food Security Survey 2025 from the organization Food Monitor Program (FMP) reveals that more than 80% of households in provinces such as Granma, Matanzas, Pinar del Río, and Sancti Spíritus reported damage to refrigerated food due to blackouts.
The study, based on 2,513 valid responses collected between May and July 2025 across the 16 Cuban provinces, shows that 80.39% of respondents stated that power outages affected their ability to cook in the last six months, an increase of almost ten percentage points compared to the previous year.
Most Cuban households rely on electricity (54.6%) or bottled gas (24.11%) for cooking, but both resources are critically scarce on the island.
In the simultaneous absence of electricity and liquefied gas—supplies that many households had not received for months—Cuban families turned to precarious alternatives: 35% used firewood or charcoal, 25% ate cold food, 17% relied on family or neighbors, and 6% did not eat at all.
The lack of electricity also compromised the cold chain.
Almost half of the respondents, 47.59%, reported that their refrigerated food spoiled due to prolonged power outages, a figure that in four provinces significantly exceeds the national average.
This energy crisis is part of a structural collapse of the Cuban electrical system.
In 2025, a generation deficit exceeding 2,000 MW was recorded, with power outages lasting up to 24 hours a day in the interior of the country and at least five nationwide total blackouts.
Meanwhile, the shortage of liquefied gas became chronic: more than 100,000 households in Matanzas were left without regular supply since January 2025, while in Granma the sale of gas was halted due to depletion at the plant in Santiago de Cuba.
The survey data also reveals the direct impact on food: 33.9% of households reported that at least one member went to bed hungry at least once in the last 30 days, compared to 24.6% recorded in 2024, according to the full report available online.
A previous survey by the WFP revealed that one in three families goes hungry in Cuba, a figure that worsens the situation described by the World Food Programme, which estimates that 36% of Cubans face food insecurity.
The FMP warns that "the energy for cooking is a basic condition of food security" and that "without stable access to it, not only cooking becomes impossible, but also preservation, family planning, and health protection."
The organization also points out that in 2026 so far, the situation is "much more alarming" than in 2025.
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