In Haiti, handouts only go so far

Hundreds of people, including many small children, thronged the steel gates outside another church, where aid workers were giving out bags of food donated by Venezuela.

Relief group World Vision said food distribution this week in Haiti's Central Plateau, north of the capital, drew about 800 people over two days, some who had walked more than three hours.

The sharp rise in prices has thrown some of those who could barely support themselves into the throngs of the utterly destitute.

Rodman said he was so desperate to feed his family that he pawned the tools he used to make furniture and now has no way to earn an income. The 38-year-old said his wife is angry and frustrated.

"She tells me to go out and get a job, buy some food," he said, drying his tears with his dusty, blue Puma T-shirt. "This is the first time I've had to lower myself and come get this food."

Since the riots a little more than a week ago, the U.N. multinational force of about 9,000 soldiers and police and Haitian police have increased patrols and checkpoints, hoping to catch gang members and confiscate weapons. Many fear that violence could easily return.

"Things are back to normal but it's precarious, it's fragile," said Fred Blaise, the spokesman for the U.N. police force.

But most agree the short-term situation is bleak. Haiti's economy has been shattered by years of political turmoil. The nation's infrastructure is in a shambles and its agricultural sector has been devastated by inefficiency, cheaper imports — primarily from the U.S. — and a shortage of arable land.

World Vision, which is distributing $80 million of U.S. aid in Haiti over five years, says it is trying to raise private donations to buy more food and will distribute seeds and tools in the countryside, where the poverty is most extreme.

Aid groups are also struggling with higher prices and say they do not have huge stocks that they can easily divert from one needy group to another.

"We are dealing with a very fluid situation," said Rose Kimeu of World Vision. "People are getting angrier and angrier."

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