Local efforts over the years have aimed to help victims of the flood-ravaged nations of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which share one island in the Caribbean Sea.

Earlier this month, the Haverstraw Relief Task Force shipped a 40-foot container of supplies to the Dominican Republic.

Today, reports from the other side of the island reveal that rising energy costs are hitting Haitians particularly hard.

With food prices skyrocketing due to increases in cultivation and transportation costs, Haiti’s poorest can’t afford even a daily plate of rice. Some take extreme measures to fill their bellies, and are eating cookies made of dirt, salt and vegetable shortening, the Associated Press says.

The dirt comes from the country’s central plateau and apparently is prized by pregnant women as an antacid and a source of calcium, the report said. Now, the mud cookies, which remain much cheaper than the most basic food items, have become a regular meal for the most indigent and desperate.

A reporter sampling a cookie found that it had a smooth consistency and sucked all the moisture out of the mouth as soon as it touched the tongue. For hours, an unpleasant taste of dirt lingered.

Assessments of the health effects are mixed. One expert said the dirt may contain deadly parasites or toxins, but also may strengthen fetal immunity to diseases.

Haitian doctors say depending on the cookies for sustenance risks malnutrition, the report added.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Its struggling economy has been devastated by the effects of natural disasters, rampant crime and political strife. Of the 8 million people who live in the country, more than half are illiterate, and unemployment is widespread.