Solidarity Kitchens as devices for guaranteeing the Human Right to Adequate Food and perspectives for the consolidation of these equipments as a public policy.

• Grant number: 23/10234-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research in Public Policies
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Ana Paula Bortoletto Martins
• Grantee: Ana Paula Bortoletto Martins
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Camila Aparecida Borges ; Cláudia Raulino Tramontt ; Patricia Constante Jaime ; Ricardo Abramovay
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/01159-0 - Development of an educational intervention for the Solidarity Kitchens team of MTST based on the Development of an educational intervention for the Solidarity Kitchens team of MTST based on the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population., BP.TT; 24/15167-2 - Development of an educational intervention for the MTST Solidarity Kitchens team based on the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population., BP.TT; 24/03423-4 - Characterization of the food environment around the MTST solidarity kitchens, BP.MS; 24/07545-7 - Characterization of MTST Solidarity Kitchens: collection and management of strategic data, BP.TT

Abstract

One of the most relevant factors for Brazil's return to the hunger map in 2022 was the dismantling of public policies that served the vulnerable population, compromising the guarantee of the human right to adequate food (DHAA). From this unfavorable situation, a social movement was observed to guarantee this primordial right, such as the creation of solidarity kitchens, with emphasis on the experience organized by the Homeless Workers Movement (MTST). The recent publication of the Law 14.628/2023 that establishes the Solidarity Kitchen Program (PCS) opens up the need to improve public management and generate scientific evidence that supports the proper implementation of solidarity kitchens as food and nutritional security equipment (SAN). Considering the need to understand and generate subsidies for the implementation of the PCS, the solidarity kitchens of the MTST are the object of study, seen as a public policy under construction managed by a social movement. The target public of this public policy is the population currently served by the kitchens, as well as the potential vulnerable population in the country, that is, the 33 million Brazilians in a situation of food insecurity. The predominant characteristics of the scientific contribution of this project are "rapid science on strategic targets" and "innovation, modeling, foundation or design". The objective for public management is to generate subsidies for the regulation and monitoring of the PCS, considering the potential for implementing the MTST model, based on a case study in four locations. Among the intended results, the following stand out: the characterization of the population served by the kitchens, the structure and management and the food environment surrounding the MTST solidarity kitchens; analysis of the impact of an educational intervention based on the Food Guide in the MTST kitchens; the understanding of the potential impacts of solidarity kitchens as a device for guaranteeing the DHAA and the development of evaluation and monitoring indicators for the PCS. As for the scientific component, this project aims to produce scientific evidence that encourages an evaluation process of the potential implementation of Solidarity Kitchens as FNS equipment and national public policy. The project is carried out through six phases: the first will be a literature review; the second, a diagnosis involving the sociodemographic characterization of the participants and the infrastructure and functioning of the kitchens, knowledge about the Food Guide, consumption and food environment; the third and fourth will be the development, application and evaluation of educational training with kitchen workers based on the Food Guide; in the fifth phase, in-depth interviews will be conducted with key actors to deepen the evidence on solidarity kitchens; and the sixth provides subsidies for the proposition of indicators for evaluating and monitoring the PCS. The Partnership Institution (MTST) will be responsible for the dialogue with the solidarity kitchens teams, for the critical review of the data collection materials, will participate in the elaboration of the educational intervention and will provide subsidies and review for the case study. The Associated Institution (MDS) will provide subsidies, contexts, critical reviews on each stage of the project and will also present the needs of public management in accordance with the advancement of PCS regulation. Potential risks are: the low use of scientific evidence, the changing political context and potential difficulties in collecting data in kitchens, including a high degree of refusals. The schedule and form of presentation of scientific knowledge will be articulated according to the demands of public management. The findings of the studies will be presented at relevant scientific congresses in the field of public policies in food and nutrition and FNS at national, regional and global levels. (AU)