O Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE) em tempos de pandemia: uma análise sobre as estratégias executadas pela Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Hunger, as one of the intrinsic outcomes of expropriations, both primary and secondary, inherent to the capitalist mode of production, is a complex challenge that extends beyond mere food scarcity; it is intrinsically linked to the political and economic dynamics shaping society, not only in Brazil but worldwide. Although a structural issue, notable in Brazil is the absence of a cohesive and consistent social policy to combat hunger that has been continuously maintained across different governments. There is a remarkable exception represented by school meals provided through the National School Feeding Program (PNAE). The PNAE plays a crucial role in seeking to ensure the food security and nutrition of Brazilian students. The global health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 exacerbated, among other pre-existing issues, the problem of food insecurity. With the closure of schools and the suspension of in-person classes, many students were deprived of access to meals provided by the PNAE. The Pandemic also brought challenges to the implementation of the PNAE throughout the country, and in this regard, we sought to analyze how the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, through the Municipal Department of Education (SME), maintained the execution of the PNAE. For the methodology of this research, three methods were chosen: the use of semi-structured interviews with a Consea-Rio counselor, completion of an online questionnaire by responsible parties for students in the municipal education network of Rio de Janeiro, documentary analysis of the minutes published from March 2020 to January 2022, produced by CONSEA-Rio, and the collection of reported information on the subject in the press. Through the collected data, we identified the choice of strategies that did not guarantee universal access and were the subject of numerous complaints and allegations that led to legal actions. Thus, the pandemic scenario highlights the need for more effective public policies to combat hunger, the strengthening of the PNAE to comply with its legislation, and a renewed engagement by Social Work in this deeply significant debate for the working class.