More than half of Jamaicans are facing food insecurity, with 28% experiencing severe conditions in which they go hungry or spend entire days without eating, according to figures cited by a Jamaican food security expert.
Speaking Tuesday at the launch of the 10th International Food Security and Sovereignty Conference, Dr. Cecil Cornwall, head of the Western Hospitality Institute, said 55% of Jamaicans face uncertainty about having enough food, including running out of food or skipping meals.
He said the situation is even more severe for many Jamaicans.
“Twenty-eight per cent experience severe conditions where they go hungry or go entire days without eating,” Cornwall said.
Food insecurity generally refers to a lack of regular access to enough safe and nutritious food needed for normal growth, development and an active and healthy life, according to the United Nations World Food Programme.
The figures come as Jamaica continues to grapple with pressure on its food system from high food costs, extreme weather and the lingering effects of Hurricane Melissa, which devastated agricultural communities and livelihoods after striking the island in October 2025.
St. Elizabeth, widely regarded as Jamaica’s breadbasket, was among the areas particularly hard hit by the Category 5 hurricane, with homes, farms and livelihoods destroyed.
In the immediate aftermath of the storm, the World Food Programme partnered with the Jamaican government to provide emergency food assistance to vulnerable communities. The agency said its initial emergency food distributions reached approximately 123,000 people in St. Elizabeth, St. James, Trelawny and Westmoreland.
WFP subsequently launched a cash assistance program with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security targeting another 50,000 people severely affected by the hurricane, including households in Hanover.
The hurricane compounded challenges already facing Jamaica’s agricultural sector. Hurricane Beryl, which passed near the island in July 2024, had also caused significant damage to homes and livelihoods. WFP’s subsequent cash assistance program reached more than 14,000 people affected by that storm.
Efforts are now underway to strengthen the country’s agricultural resilience. The Jamaican government is rolling out a US$50 million agriculture and resilience program aimed at strengthening food security and helping the sector better withstand climate-related shocks.
The issue comes against a wider backdrop of persistent global hunger. The UN’s 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report estimated that about 645 million people, or 7.8% of the global population, experienced hunger in 2025. While that represented a decline from the previous year, UN agencies warned that progress remains uneven and insufficient to meet international targets for ending hunger by 2030.
Jamaica’s food security challenges will be among the issues examined when policymakers, researchers, farmers, entrepreneurs and development partners gather for the International Food Security and Sovereignty Conference next week.
The launch of the conference was held at the conference center at Sandals Dunn’s River in St. Ann.
The two-day conference, organized by the Food Hygiene Bureau, is scheduled for Sept. 9 and 10 at Sandals Dunn’s River in Mammee Bay.
This year’s conference will be held under the theme “Building Resilience in Food Systems: Enhancing Food Security and Sovereignty” and is expected to bring together local and international experts to discuss sustainable agriculture, food sovereignty and ways to strengthen food systems against climate, economic and other shocks.
Organizers say discussions will focus on practical solutions to some of the major food and agricultural challenges facing Jamaica and the wider world.
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