 |
| Nearly 10% of Mumbai population is now relying on food-charity. |
Labour Chowk in Noida is usually brimming with hundreds of men looking for jobs as construction labourers. The small intersection of roads in this suburban area of Delhi is a hotspot where builders come to hire workers. But it was eerily quiet when I drove there on Sunday during the initial lockdown. Everything was still - one could never imagine listening to the sound of birds chirping in such a busy area.
But I did - almost in disbelief. I soon spotted a group of men huddled in a corner. I stopped and asked them, from a safe distance, if they were following the lockdown. Ramesh Kumar, who comes from Banda district in Uttar Pradesh state, said that he knew "there won't be anybody to hire us, but we still took our chances". "I earn 600 rupees ($8; £6.50) every day and I have five people to feed. We will run out of food in a few days. I know the risk of coronavirus, but I can't see my children hungry," he said.
Millions of other daily-wage earners are in a similar situation. The lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening means they are now facing no prospect of income for the next three weeks. The likelihood is, some will run out of food in the coming days.
India has reported more than 500 confirmed cases and at least 10 people have died. Several state governments, including Uttar Pradesh in the north, Kerala in the south and the national capital Delhi, have promised direct cash transfers into the accounts of workers like Mr Kumar. Prime Minister Modi's government has also promised to help daily-wage earners affected by the lockdown.
But there are logistical challenges. At least 90% of India's workforce is employed in the informal sector, according to the International Labour Organization, working in roles like security guards, cleaners, rickshaw pullers, streets vendors, garbage collectors and domestic helps.
Most do not have access to pensions, sick leave, paid leave or any kind of insurance. Many do not have bank accounts, relying on cash to meet their daily needs. Lots are migrant workers, which means that they are technically residents of a different state to the one where they work. Then there is the problem of the floating population: people who do not live in any state for a long period as they move around to find work.
 |
| This old beggar didn't understand why the station is deserted. |
Mr Yadav is particularly worried about his state, which is India's most populous, with an estimated 220m residents. "We have got to stop people from travelling to one city from another to avoid community transmission. And one way of doing is to ensure food security. People rush to their villages in times of crisis," he added.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has said that a team of workers was tracking those who have arrived from other states and everybody who needs help will be supported by his government. Indian Railways has now suspended all passenger services until 31 March.
But just days before the suspension kicked in on 23 March, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers travelled in packed trains from outbreak-hit cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad to their villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states. That has heightened the risk of community transmission and experts fear that the coming two weeks are the most challenging for India.
However, not everybody could afford to travel to their villages. Kishan Lal, who works as rickshaw puller in the northern city of Allahabad, said he had not made any money in the past four days. "I need to earn to feed my family. I have heard that the government is going to give us money - though I have no idea when and how," he said.
His friend Ali Hasan, who works as a cleaner in a shop, said he had run out of money to buy food. "The shop shut down two days ago and I haven't been paid. I don't know when it will open. I am very scared. I have a family, how am I going to feed them?" he asked.
Millions of Indians also earn money as street entrepreneurs - people who own small businesses and employ people like themselves. Mohammed Sabir, who runs a tiny stall selling yogurt-based drinks in Delhi, says he had hired two people recently, anticipating more business during the summers.
 |
| All rickshaws in Mumbai are idle and the drivers are starving. |
All monuments are also shut in the country and that has had an impact on many who make money from tourism. Tejpal Kashyap, who works as a photographer at the iconic India Gate in Delhi, said he had never seen such a sharp drop in business.
"Last two weeks were bad - even when there was no lockdown. There were hardly any tourists. Now I can't even go back to my village and I can't even work. I am stuck here in Delhi and constantly worried about my family in my village in Uttar Pradesh," he said.
Drivers of ride-hailing services like Uber and Ola are also suffering. Joginder Chaudhary, who drives a taxi for the employees of an airline in Delhi, says the government needs to give "some relief to people like me".
"I understand the importance of the lockdown. Coronavirus is dangerous and we need to protect ourselves. But I can't help but think how I will support my family if the lockdown continues for weeks," he said.
And some haven't even heard about coronavirus. A cobbler, who didn't want to give his name, said he had been "polishing people's shoes at the railway station in Allahabad for years, but nobody is showing up now". He said he doesn't even know why people have stopped travelling. I don't know what is happening. Not many people are coming to the station these days. I know that some curfew is going on, but I don't know why," he said.
Vinod Prajapati, who sells water bottles in the same area, intervenes in the conversation. "I know everything about coronavirus. It's very dangerous, the whole world is struggling. Most people who can afford and have a place to stay are indoors. But for people like us, the choice is between safety and hunger. What should we pick?" he asks.
 |
| Me not worry "Chinese Virus", me just want "Khar Nar." |
A growing number of Americans say they can’t afford to stock up on groceries: For those living on a fixed income, it can be difficult to afford to stock up on groceries for weeks at a time, especially when many of the cheaper items are out of stock.
Patricia Brown, 69, who lives on a fixed income, stands in front of an empty milk cooler at the Aldi in Burlington, N.C., on Wednesday during the coronavirus pandemic. For those living on a fixed income, it can be difficult to afford to stock up on groceries for weeks at a time, especially when many of the cheaper items are out of stock.
She was running out of food, but Patricia Brown had to wait. She waited until the third Wednesday of the month, the day her Social Security check landed in the bank, before she got into her Nissan and drove to the local supermarket in search of a few basics: spaghetti, ground beef and distilled water for her sleep apnea machine.
But like millions of Americans on fixed incomes, who rely on social security, disability checks or food stamps to buy necessities each month, Brown doesn’t have much of a choice. It is nearly impossible, she says, to stock up on food, medication or other necessities beyond what she would normally buy.
“Of course I would’ve liked to buy groceries sooner,” said Brown, 69, a retired courtroom clerk in Burlington, N.C. “But I’m only getting checks once a month. Once that’s gone, I’m broke until the next one comes.”
As layoffs skyrocket, the holes in America’s safety net are becoming apparent. Across the country, already-struggling Americans are being urged to buy more at one time and embrace social distancing to help slow the outbreak’s spread. At the same time, supermarkets are getting picked over, as panic-stricken consumers snap up rice, pasta, beans and canned vegetables — the kind of inexpensive staples that Brown has learned to stretch into a month’s worth of meals.
White House officials are considering various emergency measures to help Americans, including sending $1,000 checks directly to workers in coming weeks. But while that money may provide temporary relief — and enough cash to pay for groceries and other expenses short-term, many say it would not provide long-term security at a time when jobs are drying up and the economy teeters toward recession.
More than 37 million Americans — or about 1 in 9 people — struggled to put food on the table in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That number could soon double as the outbreak wreaks havoc on workers around the country, said Katie Fitzgerald, chief operating officer of Feeding America, a nonprofit that oversees 200 food banks.
Already, companies like Marriott International, MGM Resorts and Caesars have signaled plans to shed thousands of jobs as hotels, restaurants and retail shops suspend or curtail business to wait out the worst of the pandemic. On Thursday, jobless claims jumped 33 percent to 281,000, and economists say that number could jump eightfold this coming week.
Food banks, she said, are seeing anywhere from two to four times the number of people they typically serve. Thousands are queuing up at drive-up food pantries in Texas, Virginia, Michigan and beyond. “This pandemic is changing the face of food insecurity in America,” she said. “It’s an incredible challenge: At the same time that demand is spiking and people are in need, food is becoming very difficult to get.”
Brown drove to her local Aldi on Wednesday morning. She put on a pair of disposable gloves and piled her cart with two cases of dried ramen, two boxes of rice, frozen flounder, and canned chicken, green beans and corn. “I wanted fresh tuna but it was too expensive — $8 or something,” she said. Instead, she picked the 95-cent version in a can and splurged on a $2.29 tin of pink salmon. She spent $109 in all.
“A lot of stuff that isn’t popular — the organic noodles, the fancy bread — stays on the shelves,” Brown said. “But that doesn’t work for someone like me, on a budget.”
A Humbling Experience: More than 1 in 5 U.S. families receives some form of government assistance every month, a number that could grow rapidly in coming weeks as retailers, restaurants and hotels lay off thousands of service workers who already live paycheck to paycheck.
The average Social Security payment is about $1,500 a month, while disability checks average less than $1,300. For many people, that has to cover all other expenses — housing, utilities — on top of groceries.
Since the first U.S. case of covid-19 was reported in late January, nearly 1 in 5 U.S. workers have been laid off or had their hours reduced because of the coronavirus, according to a recent poll by NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist. Economists say more than 1 million Americans are expected to lose their jobs by the end of March, creating an entirely new category of Americans who are suddenly struggling to make ends meet.
Things were going well for David Anthony. He had a steady job at a warehouse that specializes in commercial sinks and shelving. He operated a forklift and made $13.30 an hour. But he got laid off two weeks ago as the outbreak obliterated demand. A temp agency placed him at a factory that made pancake batter mix, but two days later, he got a pink slip there, too.
“I’m trying to find employment, but everything — and I mean everything — is being shut down because of this virus,” Anthony, 39, said. He and his wife and children, ages 2 and 4, are living at an EconoLodge in Effingham, Ill., where they pay $291 a week. Most of their meals — consisting mostly of canned potatoes, green beans and SpaghettiOs purchased with food stamps — are cooked on an electric skillet or slow cooker in their motel room.
“Talk about a humbling experience,” he said. “Now we’re buying food as we go because shelter has become our main priority." Anthony’s wife, he said, was making $9.25 an hour cleaning motel rooms. But bookings have dried up, creating more uncertainty.
The family has cut back on meat and fresh produce. Now Anthony, who has weathered periods of homelessness since he was 17, is wondering whether his family will soon be out of a place to live. “All my kids’ lives, they’ve had a roof over their heads,” he said. “But now we’re worried: Will we have to go back to homeless camping? We still have our three-bedroom tent.”
Days Without Food: “Forget stocking up,” Brandy Eggleston, 27, said. The best she and her family can do right now is try to survive. Her household in Durham, N.C. — which includes her mother and stepfather, both on disability — doesn’t have consistent running water. But every supermarket in town is sold out of bottled water.
 |
| Without free food from the community kitchens most poor in Democrat-controlled NYC would have been starved to death. |
As was the case Wednesday. The shelves at Walmart were nearly empty. She spent $34 on fish sticks, tangerines, frozen pancakes and syrup. “We’re on a very, very fixed income,” she said. “With everything that’s going on, that’s made it even harder to buy the things we need to.”
That’s also true in the Chicago suburbs, where the food pantries Sandra Lotz relies on have been stripped bare. The 60-year-old, who spent decades as a medical transcriptionist, had to stop working because of spinal stenosis and multiple myeloma, a form of bone and blood cancer.
Now she has two weeks to go before her $1,200 disability check arrives, and no money for groceries. “We’ve been without food for four days,” she said. “People are panicking. I’m disabled with no vehicle and don’t know what to do." Lotz, who supports her two adult children, recently went to the supermarket with $2, hoping to pick up a loaf of bread or a box of pasta for a few days’ worth of meals. But the shelves were largely bare.
“It was like the apocalypse was coming,” she said. “I needed cheap bread — you know, the kind that tastes like sawdust — and all they had was $4 and $5 loaves of Pepperidge Farm. If coronavirus doesn’t get us, starvation will."
