The Cuban content creator Dainelys Morales showcased the food crisis in Cuba: with no rice at home, she prepared a lunch of mashed cassava with boiled eggs.
Morales recorded a video explaining why they do not eat rice at home. He did this from the patio while peeling root vegetables alongside his family. The young person's video has sparked dozens of comments from Cubans who find themselves in the same situation.
"Today we didn't have rice at home, so we decided to buy some yucca for lunch," he explains. The text accompanying the post humorously summarizes the crisis: "With the outrageous prices we currently have in Cuba, this is what's for lunch. At this rate, I'm going to end up as a street vendor!"
In the video, Morales not only talks about rice: he also discusses the shortage of oil and pork. "This is my last survivor. At 6,000 pesos, it's something! You have to save it; I was using a dropper to get it out. I can't explain it to you," he says, referring to cooking oil.
The young woman made a cassava mash, with boiled eggs and a sauté. Regarding the shortage of pork, she noted: "It's even harder to find now that people are looking for it to render the fat," given the difficulty of obtaining oil at affordable prices.
Many comments express support for Morales and resonate with the situation presented in the video. "I hope many blessings come your way because I know what it's like to go out looking for food every day," wrote a follower.
On the other hand, another person found culinary inspiration: "At least you made my mouth water with how delicious that looks. I'm going to try to make it the same way the next time I cook it."
The price of rice and food shortages in Cuba
In 2026, the number oftestimonies from Cubans replacing rice with purees of cassava, sweet potato, plantain, and pumpkin has multiplied on social media as a survival strategy in response to an unrelenting rise in prices.
The regime attempted to contain inflation by setting a cap of 155 CUP per pound for rice in March 2025, but that price could never be maintained in practice.
In July 2026, the Council of Ministers eliminated that cap through Decree 156, published in the Official Gazette, without immediately announcing a new price reference. In unregulated markets, the cereal was priced between 250 and over 400 CUP per pound in July. In the black market, a 25 kg sack reached 31,800 CUP.
Cooking oil followed the same trend: it went from an official ceiling of 990 CUP per liter —removed in June 2026— to reports of between 4,000 and 6,000 CUP per liter in early August.
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