Immigrant Families in Amadora Turn to Food Baskets as Prices Climb
Immigrant families in Amadora's Casal da Mira rely on weekly food baskets as food, rent and energy costs outpace pensions and wages near Lisbon.
Rising food and energy prices are pushing immigrant families in Amadora, on Lisbon’s northern edge, to cut what they spend on food and rely on donated groceries, RTP reports. At a nursery in the Casal da Mira neighborhood, staff hand out food baskets every Monday to people whose wages and pensions no longer cover their monthly bills.
Some residents are weighing whether to stay in Portugal at all. Younger people in particular are leaving for France, Switzerland and Luxembourg, according to a long-serving staff member at the center.
A nursery that also feeds the neighborhood
The center is the Unidinhos de Cabo Verde nursery (jardim infantil). Its three rooms care for children aged 3 to 5, and almost all of them come from low-income homes. Many arrive without breakfast, either because there is nothing at home or because their parents had no time, so the nursery gives them an extra meal. Lunch is cooked on site for the children, the staff and anyone else who needs it.
Cesaltina Gomes, an education assistant known locally as Avó Ciza (Grandma Ciza), has worked there for almost 40 years. She told RTP that what local families earn is “not enough for basic needs.” Donations come from a large hypermarket and are collected on Sundays, then handed out at the start of the week.
Many people in the neighborhood are of Cape Verdean origin and have lived in Portugal for decades. Casal da Mira took in families rehoused from the Estrela da África and Fontainhas neighborhoods.
What it means for household budgets
The residents who spoke to RTP describe the same squeeze: rent, water, electricity, gas and food all rising while pensions and salaries stay low.
- A 53-year-old woman who used to work in cleaning, elderly care and restaurants now has back problems that keep her from standing for long. She collects food on Mondays and Tuesdays. Her pension does not cover rent, utilities and groceries, and she says her age makes it hard to find work. Two of her seven children still live with her, a 14-year-old student and a 22-year-old who is not working. Her shopping is now mostly chicken or hake.
- A 70-year-old widow born on Santiago island in Cape Verde pays 300 euros in rent from a retirement pension and a widow’s pension. That money supports six people, including three children and two grandchildren. By the end of the month, after water, electricity and rent, she says nothing is left for the house. She started using the food baskets only recently.
- Another resident, who arrived from Santiago in 1973, told RTP she was shocked to see a kilo of onions priced at 1,69 euros.
The 53-year-old said hardship is not limited to immigrants. She pointed to people sleeping rough in Lisbon and described the price of a gas cylinder as being “at the price of gold.”
Staying, or leaving for northern Europe
RTP reports that higher prices have led immigrant communities to reconsider staying in Portugal. Those who leave, mostly younger people, look for jobs in restaurants, cleaning and as school assistants abroad, and Gomes says she has watched friends go.
Not everyone is tempted to move. The 70-year-old visits family in Cape Verde from time to time and thinks life there is cheaper, but she has no plans to return, and her children only want to go back on holiday. She told RTP the family is now more used to life in Portugal.
Source: RTP Notícias
