Peru's army gives food to poor as Garcia struggles

By Dana Ford

SAN JUAN DE LURIGANCHO, Peru (Reuters) - Peruvian troops banged on the doors of the poor in night-time operations this week to hand out groceries and ease a crisis of rising food prices that has sunk President Alan Garcia's popularity.

Peru has enjoyed a six-year economic boom with growth now running at about 9 percent a year but the benefits have barely trickled down to the poor and many don't have enough to eat.

A global increase in food prices has raised concerns of political instability and Garcia, who took office in 2006, has seen his approval rating plummet to around 28 percent.

After months of trimming taxes on food imports and the central bank trying to curb inflation, his government is now deploying the army in a program of direct aid to reach the poorest of the poor.

Sara Carbajal, who lives in a wooden shack on the outskirts of the capital, is one of thousands the government is trying to reach. Awoken by noise outside her door one night this week, she carefully peeked outside and was handed a bag of food.

"Here, everyone is poor," said Carbajal, 32, pointing to hundreds of homes like hers, made from flimsy wood and aluminum scraps, perched precariously on a steep hill, where a lack of plumbing forces people to haul water in buckets up dusty foot paths.

"Prices are rising, which means salaries are falling. We buy much less now," said Carbajal, who lives with her husband and their two children.

To discourage large crowds and to catch people when they are most likely to be at home, the army is delivering food at night, helped by social workers.