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Food Security in Brazil: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Community Restaurants in the North and Northeast Regions

Author

Listed:
  • Mateus Santana Sousa

    (Graduate Program in Food, Nutrition and Health, Nutrition School, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40110-909, Brazil)

  • Rita de Cássia Akutsu

    (Graduate Program in Food, Nutrition and Health, Nutrition School, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40110-909, Brazil
    Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Campus Universitario Darcy Ribeiro, University of Brasília, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil)

  • Calliandra Maria de Souza Silva

    (Graduate Program in Health Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Ceilândia, University of Brasília, Federal District, Brasília 72220-900, Brazil)

  • Camila Silveira Silva Teixeira

    (Medical Science Center, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife 50670-420, Brazil)

  • Izabel Cristina Rodrigues da Silva

    (Graduate Program in Health Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Ceilândia, University of Brasília, Federal District, Brasília 72220-900, Brazil)

Abstract

Community Restaurants (CRs), part of the Brazilian government’s Popular Restaurant Program (PRP), provide free and/or affordable nutritionally balanced meals as an essential strategy to meet the most vulnerable population’s basic needs and rights. This cross-sectional study evaluated the effectiveness of these CRs’ proposed objectives in cities with ≥100,000 inhabitants in Brazil’s northern and northeastern regions—Brazil’s most vulnerable and historically unequal regions. Effectiveness was assessed using a CR evaluation matrix-based indicator system to classify CRs as “not very effective”, “effective”, or “very effective”. Among the 94 CRs assessed (north: n = 23, 24.5%; northeast: n = 71, 75.5%), most were classified as “effective” or “very effective”, except for the northern states of Amapá and Tocantins, whose only CR was rated as “not very effective” and the northeastern state of Sergipe, which had a PR considered “not very effective”. State-operated CRs predominated (north: 82.6%; northeast: 76.1%) and primarily operated Monday to Friday (north: 87.0%; northeast: 59.2%), with 35.2% of the northeast CRs operating daily, serving lunch as the main meal (100%). Average daily meal counts were 486.5 (north) and 926.9 (northeast), and the average meal offering time was from 10:55 am to 1:21 pm in the north and from 10:35 am to 2:00 pm in the northeast region, with costs averaging USD 0.27 and USD 0.20, respectively. All CRs employed a nutritionist as a technical manager responsible for menu planning and demonstrated compliance with essential infrastructure criteria, including regular waste collection, water supply, and proximity to public transport. Most were in areas with sanitary sewage coverage (north: 91.3%; northeast: 98.6%) and had monitoring mechanisms (91.3% north; 94.4% northeast) and prioritization systems for vulnerable populations (north: 73.9%; northeast: 80.0%). These findings indicate that CRs in these regions effectively strive to address food security goals, demonstrating tangible outcomes that benefit society.

Suggested Citation

  • Mateus Santana Sousa & Rita de Cássia Akutsu & Calliandra Maria de Souza Silva & Camila Silveira Silva Teixeira & Izabel Cristina Rodrigues da Silva, 2025. "Food Security in Brazil: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Community Restaurants in the North and Northeast Regions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(2), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:2:p:315-:d:1594942
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Buttorff, Christine & Trujillo, Antonio J. & Diez-Canseco, Francisco & Bernabe-Ortiz, Antonio & Miranda, J. Jaime, 2015. "Evaluating consumer preferences for healthy eating from Community Kitchens in low-income urban areas: A discrete choice experiment of Comedores Populares in Peru," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 1-8.
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