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The Ministerio Viento Recio, located in Las Tunas, provided lunch to 190 individuals in vulnerable situations and prepared additional portions in foam containers for those living on the streets, as posted on Facebook by Apostle Mayim Jorge, the leader of the congregation.
"Today, 190 people had lunch, and those thermoplasts you see are for the helpless, needy, and vulnerable on the streets. The ones no one cares about," wrote the pastor.
That same lunch was added to the breakfasts that the church had provided on Monday and Tuesday of that week to 140 people, reflecting the scale of an operation that continues to grow without pause.
The volunteer team wakes up at four in the morning to prepare food for the elderly, children, and individuals with limited mobility who come to the ministry.
Mayim Jorge acknowledged that maintaining this work is becoming increasingly difficult: "Gentlemen, every day it becomes harder to do this. Products are more expensive and scarcer, and practically, at each gathering, the number of diners increases."
The scope of the project goes beyond a single location. On June 24, the same pastor reported that that week they had fed more than 400 needy individuals just at the Casa de Restauración church in Las Tunas, and that in other congregations in the network, the pastors had fed about 200 more people.
The initiative has spread to practically all the churches in the apostolic network, including those operating outside the city, such as the one run by Pastor Lorenzo Rosales and his wife Maridiglenis in Palma Soriano.
"There is really hunger. Look at those faces. We are helping and providing for a starving generation," wrote Mayim Jorge while sharing the images from that day.
This charitable work is taking place in the context of an unprecedented food crisis.
According to data from 2026, 96.91% of Cubans have difficulties accessing food, and 33.9% of households reported that a member went to bed hungry in the 30 days prior to the survey.
In the face of that collapse, churches have become the main network of food assistance on the island, filling the void left by the State in community dining facilities for the elderly, children, and homeless individuals.
The UN a humanitarian appeal of 94 million dollars in May 2026 to assist nearly two million people in Cuba, with a funding shortfall exceeding 60 million dollars.
The regime, far from facilitating this aid, has obstructed it. In June, the Cuban government prohibited a breakfast program that the church was running for pregnant women in a maternity home in Las Tunas, demanding that permission be obtained from the Communist Party of Cuba for each food delivery.
Mayim Jorge rejected any agreement with the authorities and harshly denounced the situation: "Pregnant women had never had milk, nor eaten cheese or ham. It's unacceptable. That's how they are; they neither eat nor let others eat."
Despite the pressures, the pastor reaffirmed his congregation's stance: "We have chosen to be channels of blessing at this time."
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