Restaurante popular: a política social em questão

Abstract

Resumo As políticas públicas sociais são reconhecidas, nesse ensaio, como imperativas, nos marcos das sociedades capitalistas, para materialização de direitos e necessidades humanas. No Brasil, e nos demais países capitalistas, as políticas sociais se instituíram como desdobramento das lutas de classe, caminho para a conquista de direitos e diminuição de desigualdades. No entanto, dependentes da liberação de recursos públicos, mostram-se fragmentadas e descontínuas. No que tange às políticas sociais, no âmbito da segurança alimentar e nutricional, o Programa de Rede de Equipamentos Públicos de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional, com destaque para os restaurantes populares, tem como objetivo promover o acesso da população urbana à alimentação adequada, a preços acessíveis, com prioridade aos segmentos mais vulneráveis. Nascidos sob a égide da desigualdade social, originalmente na década de 1940, continuam sendo utilizados para minimizar desajustamentos políticos, sociais e econômicos. A contribuição efetiva desses restaurantes é amenizar a situação de insegurança alimentar, entretanto a irregularidade dos recursos públicos e a restrita participação e controle sociais podem comprometer a execução da política social e a materialização do direito humano à alimentação. O fechamento dos 16 restaurantes, em 2016, no Rio de Janeiro, significou abrir mão do atendimento emergencial e da necessária proteção social.

Government-Subsidized Restaurants as promoters of the realization of the Human Right to Adequate Food: Proposal of an evaluation model

“…Despite the relevance of strategies to fight hunger and misery as proposed by the GSR program, the records of periods when several units throughout the country had to be closed are something to be worried about, and the instability sometimes experienced by the equipment, which recently had its information and guidelines taken from government websites. Still, one can wonder about what could be the cause for a certain 'invisibility' of the theme in the available literature [6].…”

“…A comparative study carried out between the Brazilian GSR system and the Spanish soup kitchens showed similarities in their objectives, i.e., the distribution of meals to populations with little access to adequate food, aiming to fight hunger and malnutrition [5]. However, when compared to international experiences, the Brazilian proposal has broader characteristics in the use of this equipment, mainly because it is applied as a Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) action, under the spotlight of the Human Right to Adequate Food (HRAF) [6].…”

“…When well structured and with a committed management, they contribute to local development and to the local economy, going further than a simple compensatory strategy [10]. Also, if well conducted, they represent real alternatives to guarantee the HRAF [11] and to improve levels of Food and Nutrition Insecurity (FNI) [6,8].…”

Government-subsidized restaurants in Brazil: an evaluation within the framework of food and nutrition security

“…Such initiatives have different levels of stability; some are established based on public policies, whereas others are temporary programs to aid specific groups. These efforts are designed to reduce social and economic inequality by providing access to sufficient amounts of nutritious food [7].…”

“…In 2003, GSR were included in the national program Zero Hunger [8]. From 2006, with the Organic Law of Food and Nutrition Security (LOSAN), some food and nutrition public programs, such as GSR and Food Banks, became essential strategies for fulfilling the human right to adequate food [7]. Therefore, Brazilian GSR are not isolated strategies; instead, they are part of complex and comprehensive public policies that integrate the Brazilian National Food and Nutrition Security Policy (PNSAN) [9].…”