Kiribati's remote Banaba Island, which has endured continuing water shortages, is now facing a food shortage.
An advocate, Biara Touakin, who is based in Fiji, said a ship typically visits each month, but the last one, on January the 6th, only contained enough food for about two weeks.
The more than 300 people living on Banaba depend almost entirely on food sent from Tarawa.
The island was decimated by phosphate mining in the first half of the 20th century, and it no longer has fruit bearing trees that could supplement the people's fishing.
Mr Touakin also said the desalination plant installed late last year continues to produce brackish water.
While government technicians have made several attempts to repair the unit, Mr Touakin said he undertands it was not assembled correctly in the first place.
Last year the Banabans formally called on the governments of New Zealand and Australia to help out, since those two nations benefitted the most from all the phosphate stripped off the island.