The story of free lunches in Brazil, many students have forgotten fruit

The Rio de Janeiro City Government has set aside a budget to ensure that there are healthy and free lunch subsidies in every school.

AP/SILVIA IZQUIERDO

Ana Paula Bloch teaches several children at a community library in Morro do Salgueiro, a slum area in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 28, 2020.

Obesity is a scourge for children in Brazil. The number continues to increase due to unhealthy eating patterns. Because they are so accustomed to consuming packaged food and drinks, many children in this country do not know what fresh fruit and vegetables are like.

The City Government of Rio de Janeiro is trying to intervene in this problem by providing healthy food in school canteens. This initiative is implemented in public and private schools, from elementary to high school and equivalent.

"Sweets and sugary drinks? Oh, we don't provide them here," said Neide Oliveira, the cook at Burle Marx public school in Curicaca, Rio de Janeiro.

Oliveira is busy chopping onions, one of the ingredients for the lunch of 650 students at the school. The food menu that she is preparing is chicken with French fries and vegetables. She is happy to see the students devouring the dishes she prepares together with her staff.

“The food in the canteen is delicious. "At home I usually eat hamburgers, pizza," said Guilherme (15), one of the students.

Also read: Demanding Free Lunch Knowledge to China

This nutritious lunch program has actually been implemented in Brazil since 2016. However, it is not mandatory in all schools. Only schools who are willing and able to implement it do so. Since January 2024, the Rio de Janeiro City Government has taken drastic steps.

They allocated a budget to ensure healthy and free school lunch subsidies in every school. In private schools, the subsidies are supplemented by contributions from parents of students.

AP/SILVIA IZQUIERDO

A child shows his work to a teacher during a learning activity at a community library in Morro do Salgueiro, a slum area in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 27, 2020.

The main reason for providing healthy lunches is to prevent students from going hungry. In its implementation, another problem was revealed, namely that many students were obese. Based on the Observa Infancia survey with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) Child Health Observer Group in 2022, the number of obese children in Brazil is three times above the world average.

The survey results were published by Agencia Brasil news agency on November 23, 2023. It was stated that 5.6 percent of children aged 1-5 years worldwide are obese. In Brazil, the number reaches 14.2 percent. For the 10-18 age group, the number is 31.2 percent.

"The numbers have increased by 6% during the Covid-19 pandemic period, which is from 2019-2022. This is because during the isolation period, children consume a lot of packaged food and drinks that are high in sweeteners but low in nutrition," said Cristiano Boccolini, the coordinator of the survey.

The 2022 survey shows that the number of obese children in Brazil is three times above the world average.

When looking at advertisements for packaged food and drinks in Brazil, they are all aimed at children. One brand features a TV commercial featuring a young female artist. There is a scene where the child shakes her head in disgust at the sight of fresh fruits, including oranges, mangoes, and guavas, served in front of her.

Also read: From Providing Additional Food to School Children to Free Lunches

Then, the mother served a cold drink made from instant packaged drinks. It had a taste of guava, orange, and various fruits that were previously rejected by her child. The child, who was an advertisement star, and his friends happily drank it.

Get to know fruit and vegetables again

The healthy lunch program not only provides nutritious intake for students, but also teaches them to rediscover various typical Brazilian fruits and vegetables. Sweet potatoes, okra, and persimmons are reintroduced to the students. Many of them, who are used to consuming instant food, are unaware of the existence of original fruits.

Marluce Fortunato, a nutrition expert from the Rio de Janeiro City Government responsible for the Burle Marx School, said that the early journey of this program was not smooth. Many parents protested to the school because their children suddenly asked for fresh fruit, which is more expensive than packaged drinks. These parents are just odd-job workers.

AP PHOTO/SILVIA IZQUIERDO

Children get tickets to watch a film at "Cinema no Morro" at the cultural center in the favela Vila Cruzeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 13, 2021.

Vera Lucia Perreira (60) just tasted fresh vegetable food. Her grandchild could not finish the lunch at school and wrapped the rest to bring home which was then eaten by the grandmother. "It tastes better than instant food," said Perreira.

In the city of Sao Paolo, this healthy lunch policy has not been widely implemented. This is because, unlike Rio de Janeiro, there are still schools that sell unhealthy snacks in the canteen. TK Lourdes Heredia Mello is one of the schools that is making thorough efforts to provide healthy food.

Also read: Criticizing the Free Lunch Program

Reported by NPR media on January 8th, 2024, this school is trying to educate its students about food portioning. They provide a buffet-style lunch where 3-6 year old students can serve themselves the food they want according to the amount they can finish.

The meals are also served without using plastic utensils. Children are trained to eat using glass plates with metal spoons and forks. (AFP)