A young Cuban touched thousands of people on social media when he received a small box of food on the street and refused to eat it, choosing instead to take it to his grandparents. The 27-second video posted on TikTok last Wednesday by the account @bichotayeni has garnered over 233,500 views, 21,700 likes, and 1,588 comments.
In the audio clip, you can hear the person recording say to the boy: "Your grandmother is going to take it, your grandmother really will. Look, it says 'the struggle' for your grandmother. You prefer to give the food to your grandmother rather than eating it yourself."
An Instagram story posted by the person who provided the assistance completed the account: "We gave a meal to this child, and he said he was taking it to his grandparents because he wasn't going to eat it."
In response to the young man's reply, those distributing the food decided to give him a second box and a can of soda so that he could eat as well.
The video was shared on Sunday by the Guajiro Digital profile on X and re-posted by ICLEP on Facebook, where it surpassed 57,000 additional views.
The gesture of the boy is not an isolated incident: it reflects the dramatic food insecurity that plagues Cuba. According to the Food Monitor Program (FMP), 96.91% of the Cuban population lacks adequate access to food in 2026, and 33.9% of households reported that at least one member went to bed hungry in the past 30 days.
Senior adults are one of the groups most affected by the crisis: 55.6% of individuals over 60 years old reported a total loss of access to food, according to the same organization.
The collapse of the state distribution system worsens the situation. The Cuban Minister of Food Industry, Alberto López Díaz, acknowledged in June that the regulated basket has not provided oil, chicken, or yogurt so far this year, and that more than 100,000 children are not receiving their daily milk.
UNICEF indicates that one in ten Cuban children suffers from severe food poverty, defined as consuming only two of the eight essential food groups.
In the absence of state support, networks of solidarity aid and the intervention of international organizations have proliferated. In July, Cáritas opened a cafeteria for children from impoverished families in Cuba, while the World Food Programme launched an emergency project to provide meals for 12,677 children in 74 educational centers across five eastern provinces.
In that context, the silent sacrifice of the young man who chose to save his food for his grandparents instead of taking it for himself encapsulates, in less than half a minute, what the crisis imposes on Cuban families every day.
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