Hunger and food insecurity are problems that affects thousands of people around the world. In Brazil, around ten million families do not have enough income to ensure food security. In traditional Quilombo communities, there is a serious situation of food insecurity, relating to the constant threats to their power over their territory and precarious access to public policies. Using an ethnographic approach and its instruments, the study analyzed the symbolic and social perceptions of the Quilombo inhabitants regarding agricultural food provision to the Brazilian School Meals Program, to promote food and nutritional security. An ethnographic approach was used, with its instruments. The results showed that this community understands and appreciates “natural” food from the earth as a source of survival and local development. Even with the difficulties, the Brazilian School Meals Program will enable income generation for farming families and healthy school meals for students.
Food; School meals; Food security; Sustainable agriculture; African continental ancestry group