Low-income households in Egypt are being hit by soaring food prices, placing a major strain on many poor families in the country, who are struggling to put basic staples on the table.

Inside a small Cairo apartment, Howeida Nageh is dicing a few tomatoes in her kitchen. Her three sons have arrived home from school and they are hungry. Yet, the only food available is these tomatoes and a piece of bread - and this will be the boys' only meal for the day.

"Things are too expensive," says Nageh, whose husband left her to raise her three boys alone. "I used to take two onions and cut them over two tomatoes, cook and eat them. Now the price of onions has increased - instead of using two, three or four onions, I now just take one and choose the smallest one," adds Nageh, whose largest source of income is the $30 a month she receives from the government.

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