In some of Haiti’s poorest communities, hunger can become so severe that people are forced to eat something that is not really food at all.
Known locally as bonbon tè, or “earth cookies,” these small, sun-dried discs are traditionally made from clay or soil mixed with salt and vegetable fat. The mixture is shaped by hand and left beneath the hot sun until it becomes firm enough to be eaten.
To someone who has never experienced extreme food insecurity, the idea of eating dirt may sound almost unimaginable. Yet for some Haitians, particularly during periods of severe economic hardship and food shortages, these clay discs have represented something painfully simple: a way to quiet an empty stomach when there is nothing else available.
The practice has a longer cultural history than the images of “mud cookies” seen in international media might suggest. Bonbon tè has been associated with traditional beliefs about clay, including the idea that it may provide minerals or help settle stomach discomfort. Consumption has also been reported among pregnant women and others who experience cravings for earth or clay, a behavior known more broadly as geophagy.
But there is an important distinction between eating clay as a traditional practice and depending on it because there is no money to buy food.
When a person eats a clay biscuit because they believe it may have a particular traditional or digestive benefit, the circumstances are very different from a parent giving it to a hungry child because there is no rice, beans, bread, vegetables or other food in the house.
That second situation is not primarily a story about an unusual food.
It is a story about hunger.
What Are Haiti’s “Mud Cookies”?
The basic preparation of bonbon tè is remarkably simple.
Reports from Haiti have described soil or clay being collected, filtered to remove stones and larger pieces of debris, then mixed with salt and vegetable shortening or another form of fat. The resulting mixture is pressed into flat discs and left to dry in the sun. The finished pieces can then be sold in markets or on the streets.
The ingredients tell an important story.
There is no grain, no legume, no meat, no milk and no substantial source of protein. The mixture is not designed to provide the balanced combination of carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals that the human body needs.
The finished product may fill physical space in the stomach, but that is very different from nourishing the body.
This distinction is crucial when discussing hunger. Hunger is not simply the sensation of having an empty stomach. Prolonged food insecurity can mean inadequate energy intake, insufficient protein and micronutrients, repeated illness and a gradual deterioration in physical health.
A person can consume something and still remain malnourished.
That is why the existence of mud cookies should not be interpreted as evidence that people have found a viable substitute for food. Rather, their existence illustrates how far people may go when ordinary food becomes financially or physically inaccessible.
The Associated Press reported in 2008 that Haitian health officials warned against relying on these cookies for sustenance because of the risk of malnutrition. The same reporting documented families who both produced and consumed them as they struggled to survive.
The image is difficult to forget: food made from the earth not because it is nutritious, but because hunger leaves very few alternatives.
A Tradition That Became a Symbol of Hunger
It is important not to reduce bonbon tè entirely to a symbol of desperation.
The practice of eating earth or clay exists in different cultures and can have cultural, traditional or behavioral explanations. In Haiti, clay consumption has historically been associated with beliefs about minerals, digestion and pregnancy-related cravings.
The broader practice, geophagy, is known in different parts of the world. People may consume particular forms of clay or earth for reasons that have nothing directly to do with famine.
However, the meaning of the practice changes dramatically when severe poverty is involved.
A traditional food or substance can become a survival strategy when ordinary food prices rise beyond a family's means.
That is what makes Haiti's mud cookies so powerful as an illustration of food insecurity. The cookie itself is not the central issue. The central issue is the economic and humanitarian environment that can make eating clay appear preferable to eating nothing.
The problem becomes particularly serious when such foods displace nutritionally adequate meals.
A stomach that feels temporarily full is not necessarily a nourished stomach.
A child who consumes something that provides little useful nutrition may still lack the calories, protein, iron, vitamins and other nutrients necessary for healthy growth. For pregnant women, inadequate nutrition can also have consequences for both the mother and developing child.
This is why stories about mud cookies should be understood within the much larger context of malnutrition rather than treated simply as stories about an unusual Haitian food.
Haiti’s Hunger Crisis Is Much Bigger Than the Cookies
The problem has become especially urgent because Haiti is experiencing one of the world's most severe food-security crises.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an internationally used system for measuring acute food insecurity, 5.83 million Haitians — approximately 52 percent of the population — were experiencing acute food insecurity in 2026. This corresponds to IPC Phase 3 or above, meaning Crisis-level food insecurity or worse.
The figure is staggering.
It means that food insecurity is not confined to a tiny group living on the margins of society. More than one person in two is affected.
The latest figures also show that about 1.8 to 1.9 million people are facing emergency levels of food insecurity, depending on the reporting period and assessment. At this stage, families can be forced to exhaust their savings, sell assets, reduce meals and adopt increasingly harmful coping strategies simply to survive.
This is a very different picture from the ordinary experience of skipping lunch or choosing a cheaper meal.
For families experiencing acute food insecurity, the problem can be whether there will be anything to eat tomorrow.
And the crisis is not caused by one single factor.
Haiti's food insecurity has been intensified by armed violence, displacement, economic instability, high food prices, disrupted transportation and markets, declining livelihoods and recurring climate shocks. FAO describes how these overlapping pressures have made the basic food basket increasingly difficult for many families to afford.
When roads become unsafe, food cannot move normally.
When markets are disrupted, prices can rise.
When farmers cannot safely reach their land, production suffers.
When families lose jobs or businesses, purchasing power disappears.
And when people are forced from their homes, they may lose not only shelter but also employment, farmland, livestock, tools and social networks.
Food insecurity therefore becomes a chain reaction.
One problem creates another, and eventually the consequences reach the dinner table.