Half of cities have no structure to combat hunger

In 2024, practically half (49%) of the country’s city halls did not have an organizational structure for food and nutritional security policies, that is, a specific municipal public body to deal with hunger.

The same situation exists in relation to food and nutritional security councils – an instance that promotes civil society participation in guidelines to combat hunger. Only 51% of municipalities declared the presence of these spaces for dialogue and decision-making.

The findings are part of the State and Municipal Basic Information Survey, released on Friday (7.Nov.2025) by the (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

The researchers profiled the structures of state governments and city halls for food and nutritional security.

Organization

Of the 5,544 municipalities that provided information to IBGE, 2,826 declared that they had structures such as exclusive secretariats or departments subordinate to other areas, for example.

Although practically half of the city halls do not have these structures, the data reveals progress compared to 2018, when 36.6% of municipalities had declared the existence of these bodies. In 2023, there were 50.3% of them.

The research manager, Vania Maria Pacheco, states that the data represents a “good way” in combating hunger.

“Even with modest numbers, it is a good indication of the presence of politics in the municipalities, of the importance of this policy for these municipalities”it says.

IBGE identified a relationship between the population size of municipalities and the presence of an organizational structure to combat hunger. Among cities with up to 5,000 inhabitants, 39.6% had the instances. The proportion increases as the size of the city increases. In those with more than 500 thousand residents, the rate reaches 91.7%.

Among the Federation units, all 26 that provided information to IBGE declared that they had food and nutritional security institutions. The survey does not contain data from Rondônia, as the State did not provide information to the researchers.

Councils with civil society

In relation to Food Security councils, their presence in 51% of municipalities in 2024 also represents progress compared to previous years. In 2018, it was 36.4%, rising to 44.9% in 2023.

However, the researchers identified that, of the 2,851 municipalities that declared the existence of the body last year, only 1,826 were active, that is, with a minimum of regular meetings.

“The council has to exist, but it has to be active, that is, holding meetings, being active in politics”says Vania Pacheco.

Among the Federation units, all presented Anti-Hunger councils that promoted the participation of civil society.

Legislation

The IBGE survey says that just over 1/3 of municipalities have their own food safety laws. In 2018, 20.9% of cities had municipal laws in this regard, a proportion that will reach 36.3% in 2024.

In relation to the municipal plan to combat hunger, only 394 municipalities (7.1%) had the instrument with guidelines and municipal actions with the objective of respecting, protecting, promoting and providing the right to adequate food for all people.

In 2023, there were 18.8% of city halls. But, according to researcher Vania Pacheco, the information was overestimated by the informants.

“The information was provided in error. This plan did not exist [em 2023] or it was still in planning, in preparation”he explains.

Practical actions

When collecting data on practical food security actions, IBGE found that 3,985 municipalities (71.9% of respondents) developed actions to promote the population’s access to food in the following way:

• 94.6% distributed basic food baskets;
• 22.7% offered ready-made meals;
• 10% distributed monetary benefits;
• 6.2% offered food vouchers;
• 14.5%, in other ways.

The research also identified that 78.7% of municipalities made use of the Eventual Social Assistance Benefit, a type of temporary emergency aid for people in situations of food insecurity, whether in the form of a basic food basket or monetary benefit.

Family farming

Family farming is a mode of production that helps states and municipalities with food security policies.

With the exception of Tocantins and Mato Grosso do Sul, the other 24 units of the Federation that provided data to IBGE reported the purchase of food from family farming. Among the municipalities, more than half (54.9%) adopted the practice.

Most of this food (81.1%) was destined for social assistance networks. The other parts of the acquired family production were directed to popular restaurants, hospital kitchens, community kitchens, food banks, public markets and grocery stores.

Popular restaurants

To profile states and municipalities, IBGE collected information on the presence of equipment related to food and nutritional security.

The researchers identified that 3.8% of cities reported having popular restaurants. There were 212 cities in which 329 of these establishments operated.

In these restaurants, meals were provided for free or costing a maximum of R$10. Among cities with more than 500 thousand inhabitants, 66.7% had popular units.

Food banks (places that receive donated food) were found in 226 municipalities, representing 4.1% of respondents. About 70% of them operated five days a week.

Regarding equipment, as IBGE does not have information from previous years, it was not possible to make a comparison between periods.

For Vania Pacheco, the presence of actions and equipment is an indication of the food security policy “marking a presence in the municipalities”.

“It is my hope that this equipment will become increasingly present, in a greater number of municipalities, and provide safe and healthy food for this number of people, who are often vulnerable people”it says.

Off the Hunger Map

In July this year, a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations showed that Brazil left the so-called Hunger Map.

Brazil had already reached this level in 2014, but returned to the Hunger Map in the 2018/2020 triennium.

With information from .