As Argentina food prices soar, more people scavenge to survive

FILE PHOTO: A man collects food from a container where discarded fruits and vegetables are deposited at the Mercado Central, the city's largest wholesale central market, which receives produce from the entire country, as Argentines face a daily race for deals as inflation soars above 100%, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina September 12, 2023. REUTERS/Matias Baglietto/File Photo

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Sandra Boluch, a fruit and vegetable seller in Buenos Aires, is seeing a worrying trend as inflation soars over 250%: sliding sales and more people scavenging for what she throws away, hoping to find enough for a meal.

The South American country is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, with the new government of libertarian Javier Milei trying to slay triple-digit inflation with tough austerity, a move that is boosting the state's finances, but is squeezing people hard.