Cuba Vive rice reaches families in Cuba
Cuba Vive | Tuesday, 1 September 2026 | Click here for original article
Cuba Vive Appeal food aid is being distributed to vulnerable families in Cuba.
Since March, the Cuba Vive Appeal has been sending containers of food aid to Cuba in addition to the ongoing medical aid. The rice has been delivered to local libreta ration shops, where it is sorted and prepared for collection. The accompanying photographs show workers unloading sacks of Cuba Vive food donations, organising the rice inside one of the shops and local people receiving their allocations.
Distribution through the libreta system ensures that the aid reaches families in their own communities and is provided free to those in need.
The delivery is part of the Cuba Vive Medical and Emergency Food Appeal, which expanded its work earlier this year in response to the escalating humanitarian crisis caused by intensified US sanctions and severe fuel shortages.
The Trump administration’s measures to block oil supplies to Cuba have compounded existing shortages, disrupting electricity generation, agriculture, food imports and distribution across the island. Basic staples such as rice and beans have become increasingly difficult for many families to obtain.
In response to urgent requests from Cuba, the Cuba Solidarity Campaign began using Cuba Vive funds to purchase and ship emergency food alongside its continuing programme of medical aid. Consignments have included rice, lentils, black beans and powdered milk, prioritising children, pregnant women, older people and other vulnerable groups.
These latest images show that the solidarity of CSC members, trade unions, local groups and supporters is reaching people directly. Donations made in Britain have become bags of rice collected by Cuban families at their local shops.
When the first Cuba Vive food shipment left Britain, Cuban Ambassador Ismara Vargas Walter said it represented “much more than food being loaded”.
“It represents friendship. It represents people in Britain saying that Cuba is not alone.”
Further medical and food-aid shipments are planned. At a time when the US government is deliberately tightening its economic siege, every donation helps turn solidarity into practical support for the Cuban people.
Please donate to the Cuba Vive Medical and Emergency Food Appeal and help keep urgently needed aid moving to Cuba.
