Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Mangaleswaran Kabilan prepares food for a customer in a trolley in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Kabilan opened the business in 2019.

Epazoyucan, Hidalgo, Mexico

Paola Ambrosio, center, teaches a group how to make Oaxacan tamales during a workshop to celebrate Candlemas in Epazoyucan, Hidalgo, Mexico. Preparing tamales has been a traditional part of the holiday, which commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, since the fusion of pre-Hispanic and Catholic religious beliefs.

Mannar, Sri Lanka

Sereaf Sekariya squeezes gram dough from a pastry bag in Mannar, Sri Lanka. Sekariya sells snacks from his food cart in the evenings.

Erdenebulgan, Arkhangai province, Mongolia

Myagmardorj Tserenkhuu, a food technologist, shapes dough before placing it in a wooden mold in Erdenebulgan, Arkhangai province, Mongolia. During Lunar New Year celebrations, Mongolians layer these traditional pastries, kheviin boov, to create a table centerpiece.

San Andrés Huayapam, Oaxaca, Mexico

Perla Hernández pours tejate, a traditional nonalcoholic beverage made of maize and cacao, into a cup outside her family’s restaurant in San Andrés Huayapam, Oaxaca, Mexico. Tejate is usually served in jícaras, small containers typically made from the fruit of the calabash tree, but Hernández has used disposable cups during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kikimba, Kirumba, Democratic Republic of Congo

Mandereni Kavugho blows beans in a winnowing tray to remove debris in Kikimba, Kirumba, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mexico City, Mexico

Jorge Nava, who rescues cats with his wife, feeds a 2-week-old kitten during a course on basic care for newborn dogs and cats in Mexico City. Animal abandonment tripled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Nava says the course will enable people to help rescuers.

Cheddikulam, Sri Lanka

Varatharasan Dinarsan pours cow’s milk into a container in Cheddikulam, Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. Due to a shortage of milk powder because of a change in import taxes, the demand for and price of cow’s milk have increased.

Guerrero, Mexico

Luis Ángel Sánchez molds dough at a bakery in Chilpancingo de los Bravo, Guerrero, Mexico. Like many bakers in the region, Sánchez and his colleagues make bread by hand.

Roberto López climbs a palm tree to retrieve coconuts in San Francisco in Nayarit, Mexico. López explains that coconut palms, which take around 10 years to produce fruit, are the only trees with a fruit that provides both water and food.

María Judith Olivera prepares sugarcane guarapo, a sweet juice she sells to people visiting Calle Norzagaray in the historic district of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Olivera, who harvests the sugarcane herself, learned how to make guarapo from her family.

Kirumba, DRC

From left , Everine Kavugho, Kavira Kibwana, Marigeritte Rembeka and Kyakimwe Hangi prepare beans for a pre-wedding ceremony in the Kikimba district of Kirumba, Democratic Republic of Congo. Fried beans are a popular food at ceremonies in the region.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Sani Pariyar, 17, chops chicken at a shop in Jorpati, a neighborhood in Kathmandu, Nepal. Customers flock to the shop because they only sell local chicken, which they display out front. He says people consume the chicken mostly during festivals and on Saturdays.

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Axel Cervantes, 11, prepares his favorite meal – sausages with potatoes, tomatoes and chipotle peppers – at his home in Puebla, Mexico. Axel learned to cook during the pandemic, when his mother had to take an afternoon shift at her job. “I used to be scared to light the stove, and I didn’t know how to use the blender,” he says. “Now I know how to make the meals I like, and I think they turn out really well.”

Nsumbi, Wakiso District, Uganda

Nambooze Vanesa, 5, blows on the fire that he and Semuguuma Shaban, 5, are using to prepare a dish known as tokotoko in Nsumbi village, in Uganda’s Wakiso district. Tokotoko is sometimes used as a game to teach children how to cook.

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Manuel Gómez works every night selling tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs, quesadillas and other items from his mobile cart on Avenida Chapultepec, a major road in Guadalajara, Mexico. He says sales have been down between 70% and 80% over the last two months, leaving him more worried about the economic situation than about the coronavirus.

Nansana Kabumbi, Wakiso District, Uganda

Joel Kamanzi, right, and Mukasa Arnold cut sugar cane to snack on in Nansana Kabumbi, a town in Uganda’s Wakiso district. The duo used to work for shops around town, but with nonessential businesses closed due to the spread of the coronavirus, they are now unemployed. Sugar cane is a cheap lunch and has enough sugars to keep them energized for the rest of the day.

Mazunte, Oaxaca, Mexico

Erika Martínez and Silverio Arango make bread to sell at the Mercado Alternativo Artesanal in Mazunte, a town in Mexico’s Oaxaca state. “The recipe is the same one we’ve been using since we started almost six years ago,” Arango says. “Except that we improved it by using sourdough instead of yeast.”

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico

César Aceves makes chiles en nogada at his restaurant, Mesón de la Cofradía, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico. The dish, which features stuffed poblano chiles and a walnut sauce, is offered during August and September because that’s when the ingredients are available.

San Pedro Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico

Rosa Martínez, 45, sells fish on the streets of San Pedro Pochutla, a city in Mexico’s Oaxaca state. “We are selling less than normal,” says Martínez, a single mother. “Before, I used to come every day. Now I come to sell every other day, but I have to come and sell, so I can take care of my children.”

Erdenet, Orkhon province, Mongolia

Erdenetsogt Davaajav cooks mutton shashlik, a dish of skewered and grilled cubes of meat, during Naadam, a national festival in Mongolia. During the festival, people visit the Central Stadium in Erdenet, a city in northern Mongolia, to watch wrestling, archery, anklebone shooting and horse racing. People also enjoy traditional foods, such as shashlik, airag (fermented mare’s milk) and khuushuur (a meat pastry or dumpling).

Mexico City, Mexico

Ángel Nájera Herrera sells sweet bread from a cart in San Jerónimo, a neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico. Nájera Herrera, 22, has sold bread, coffee and sandwiches from his cart for four years. He says his business has dropped off in recent weeks: On this day, he says, he only sold two coffees instead of the 40 or 50 he would usually sell before. The bread, however, is still popular.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Sharellie Vega passes ice cream to Juan Rivera, in black face mask, and Estefanie Figueras at Heladería Georgetti, an ice cream shop in Río Piedras, a neighborhood in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Until recently, customers couldn’t enter the shop due to the coronavirus, but the business stayed open by using a side gate as a service window.

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Lemanuel Colón ties a lure to his fishing pole on Playa Bramadero, a beach in Mayagüez county, Puerto Rico. Colón says that because his class and work were canceled as a result of the coronavirus, he’s decided to learn something new with his friend, Josecarlo Rivera. “It’s our first time trying to fish, to learn something different,” Colón says. “We’re helping each other, giving each other a hand.”