Dehydration: An efficient process for ensuring food conservation in vulnerable regions

Abstract

Approximately 860 million people throughout the world currently live in extreme hunger and poverty due to income reductions, unemployment, and layoffs from the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which disproportionately affect disadvantaged homes (Unated Nations, 2022). One of the objectives of the World Bank (2022) for 2030 is to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In Mexico, there are 55.7 million people in poverty, extreme poverty, high or very high marginalization, and vulnerable situations on account of lack of food, healthcare, housing, and employment (CONEVAL, 2020). However, there is no immediate solution to rid the world of poverty and food shortage. In this project, we propose to combat the issue of poverty and food inequality with a system for conserving food that takes advantage of the solar energy available in the most disadvantaged and marginalized regions. The solar dehydration used to naturally dry fruits, vegetables, and animal proteins after the harvest will contribute to the food supply, do no harm to the environment, and create an alternative job source.