One sore subject in Costa Rica — and around the world — is the rising cost of basic food. Our basic food basket here in Costa Rica during the first quarter of 2008 rose 13.3%. This basket is made up of 10 items, such as rice, beans, vegetables and eggs.

Of course the subject is complicated and there are several factors leading to this constant rise. This includes the ever-increasing oil cost, the fact that

Also contributing to the problem is the fact that Costa Rica has had a long-term dependency on imports and holds a terrible score on supporting local production and farming. This is supposedly about to change. The Arias administration announced at the end of last month a plan to promote national production and to come up with solutions to help the poor cover food costs.

The average Costa Rican earns 259,722 colones — or about $529 USD according to a recent study by the Spanish-language daily, Al Dia. And as a family of four needs about 447,788 ($911) to cover basic monthly expenses, such as transportation, mortgage, utilities, and food — it’s a struggle for the average family to just "get by."

Acknowledging that something has to be done is a great first step. But I’m afraid that putting measures into place could take a very long time. In the meantime, there are a great number of people who can’t afford to eat. And they certainly can’t afford to eat healthy, well-balanced meals. Long-term, we’re talking about some potential health issues as well.

I’m willing to bet that the average tourist would be surprised to find out that over 500,000 children under the age of 17 are living in poverty in Costa Rica, according to the University of Costa Rica. Overall, it’s estimated that 22% overall live in poverty here.1

More shocking is knowing how many people live on less than two dollars a day, which is almost 10% of the population.2 Living under $1 per day you’ll find 3.3% of the population. That’s approximately 140,000 people.3

These are exactly the people whom Tropical Adventures is targeting their efforts. We don’t feel like we can "save the world," but a little at a time we strive to share tools by which families, groups and communities can find sustainable ways to live — and the opportunity to share what they are learning with others. Pictured in this blog entry are children we have provided food to, as well as a picture of some of our volunteers handing out baby formula.

We only hope that together we can make a difference. Food is such a basic part of living. There aren’t many more painful things than to see a family — especially a child — who has nothing to eat.

1 – 1990-2004. Human and income poverty: developing countries / Population living below the national poverty line (%), Human Development Report 2007/08, UNDP

2 – 1990-2005. Human and income poverty: developing countries / Population living below $2 a day (%), Human Development Report 2007/08, UNDP

3 – 1990-2005. Human and income poverty: developing countries / Population living below $1 a day (%), Human Development Report 2007/08, UNDP