AMERICA/BRAZIL - National school feeding program to improve the living conditions of children and farmers

Duque De Caxias (Agenzia Fides) - In a school in the rural community of the municipality of Duque de Caxias, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, in the southeast of the country, there are children who only have one daily meal which they eat at school and it is certainly not the only case. To cope with this phenomenon, local authorities have promoted a law that stipulates that at least 30% of food products come from small local producers, thus helping to improve the lives of both children as well as farmers.
The national school feeding program in fact seeks to alleviate nutritional deficiencies regarding 45 million children in public schools across the country and, since 2009, the municipalities have to buy a third of the products from small neighbor farmers and thus ensure healthy breakfasts and lunches . According to local farmers, there is also the satisfaction of knowing that a child eats what they produce, besides the fact that it improves the living conditions of the farmers themselves and the health of children and young students. The Coordinator of the Brazilian chapter of the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger, an initiative of Latin America and the Caribbean, is father João, as he is known by all the locals. With the support of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, he promotes national laws in favor of the right to food in the region. "The seed has been planted and is sprouting in schools", he said in a note sent to Fides, referring to this Brazilian experience that was shared with legislators of 18 countries, during the VI Forum of Parliamentary Fronts against Hunger, which was recently held in Lima, Peru. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 25/11/2015)

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