The province of Sancti Spíritus is working on establishing seven community food homes aimed at vulnerable individuals in rural and hard-to-reach areas. However, none of them have opened their doors or have confirmed physical construction, as reported by the state media Escambray on Saturday.
Ariel Fernández Martín, the general director of the Business Group of Commerce in the province, was the one who disclosed the status of the preparations and publicly acknowledged that the province has accumulated delays in implementing this social policy.
"Currently, efforts are underway to establish seven facilities of this type as part of a program to be extended throughout the territory of Sancti Spíritus," stated Fernández Martín, as reported by the official media.
The projects with the most significant progress are concentrated in the municipalities of La Sierpe, Yaguajay, and Sancti Spíritus, where communities, potential beneficiaries, and economic actors willing to participate in the initiative have already been identified.
However, the path to openness is not clear: "several localities have conducted studies, identified potential beneficiaries, and have economic actors willing to participate in the initiative, but the process depends on the approval of the Administration Councils," the official note clarified.
The director himself called to expedite the procedures, acknowledging that the province is lagging behind compared to the pace this initiative has taken in other areas of the country.
Community food homes are a type of Family Care System designed for communities where setting up a conventional dining hall is not feasible. Each establishment can operate in a designated private home, serve up to ten beneficiaries from Monday to Saturday, and deliver food free of charge to those unable to travel for health reasons. The maximum price per meal is 50 Cuban pesos.
Among the anticipated beneficiaries are elderly individuals without family support, people with disabilities, families lacking cooking facilities, and pregnant women in situations of economic vulnerability.
While Sancti Spíritus has not yet opened any establishment of this kind, other provinces are ahead. In October 2026, Isla de la Juventud launched five homes in rural communities, and Ciego de Ávila opened its own in August, managed by the private project "Los Ramones." Guantánamo, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba already have operational establishments as well.
The context in which this initiative is set is one of growing demand: the Family Care System went from serving around 59,000 people in 2023 to over 76,000 in 2026, across nearly 1,445 units nationwide, with a budget that the government itself has acknowledged as insufficient. In September, a report described the food served to the elderly in a dining facility of the system in Santiago de Cuba as "a water of cilantro and chopped green garlic," illustrating the supply challenges faced by the network.
The impatience over the slow pace of the process was also reflected in the comments on the article from Escambray. "Stop talking and get started already. There’s hardly any progress, no matter how beautifully Escambray writes," wrote a reader identified as Smoralgo just a few hours after the note was published.
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