The Centre of Excellence took part in the “Food Security and School Meals with Climate Justice Workshop”, an event organised by Conexão de Direitos Amazônicos / Catrapovos-PA, held in Belém (PA) on 26 and 27 March 2026.
Catrapovos (Commission for Traditional Peoples’ Foods) is an initiative of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) that promotes the public procurement of food produced by traditional peoples and communities (PCTS). The aim is to ensure healthy eating in schools, promote local culture, and guarantee the supply of fresh and healthy food through specific public tenders for PCTS.
The nutritionist from the Centre of Excellence’s Programmes Unit spoke at Panel 2 on 26 March. She highlighted the Centre’s initiatives around school feeding (including in indigenous schools), and spoke about the reality show Escola de Sabores, broadcast until last month on TV Band, a partnership between the Centre of Excellence, the FNDE and ABC, which featured indigenous, quilombola and riverine school cooks.
“The reality show Escola de Sabores has raised the profile of the food culture of indigenous peoples and traditional communities and, at the same time, forged new links with countries such as São Tomé and Príncipe and Honduras, highlighting the Centre of Excellence’s role in promoting South-South cooperation and fostering cultural integration,” she said.
She noted that the state of Pará had three municipalities represented in this series of the reality show, with school cooks from public schools in Soure, Salvaterra and Afuá.
PNAE and PEAE
The meeting forms part of the institutional activities of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Pará and aims to assess the implementation of the National and State School Feeding Programmes in the 2025 financial year.
The meeting also aimed to plan integrated strategies for the year 2026, involving municipal managers, nutritionists, school feeding councils, departments of agriculture and education, technical assistance institutions, universities and representatives of traditional peoples and communities.
The initiative continues the series of debates that began in June 2025, during which discussions highlighted significant challenges in the implementation of public tenders, in cross-sectoral coordination and in strengthening family farming, particularly regarding the regular supply of food to the state school system.