1st edition of the Pact Against Hunger Award

by GLMRM Editorial Staff

Six initiatives were awarded a prize of R$ 100,000 each in the categories of combating hunger, reducing food waste, and promoting food security. 

On the 26th (Thursday), the Pact Against Hunger movement announced the six winners of the 1st edition of the Pact Against Hunger Award, which aims to recognize initiatives from the third sector working to promote food security, combat hunger, and reduce food waste. The entities Orgânico Solidário (SP), Novo Sertão (PI), Cáritas Brasileira (RR), Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra (PE), Associação Good Truck Brasil (PR), and Associação de Resgate da Dignidade Humana (RO) were the winners.

Developed in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Pact Against Hunger Award rewarded the winning initiatives with R$ 100,000 and business management mentoring from XP Investimentos. The projects also received a trophy signed by the artist Vik Muniz and will have a mini-documentary showcasing their work and impact on society.

“We want to give visibility to those who already do, already know, and already act. We are here to connect bridges and add knowledge. Those who are hungry cannot wait. We can end hunger in Brazil, and for that, we need a sense of urgency and indignation turned into action. Only together will we get there, with studies and planning, but with speed.”Said Geyze Diniz, co-founder and president of the Pact Against Hunger, to GLMRM

With Geyze and the businessman and producer Konrad Dantas, better known as Kondzilla, as hosts, the award ceremony counted on the sponsors and supporters of the award – Ambipar Group, Arezzo&Co, XP Investimentos, and Ponte a Ponte Consultoria –, and authorities, including the mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes, and the Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, Paulo Teixeira.

ABOUT THE AWARD

 The first stage took place at the Pact Against Hunger Hub, a platform to connect, map, and give visibility to initiatives from all sectors. The selection process took place in 3 stages: registration and eligibility, evaluation by the technical jury, and compliance evaluation conducted by XP.

The selection criteria were the potential for replication, scalability, relevance, and impact. The level of collaboration was also one of the prioritized criteria (how the initiative articulates its activities with other sectors), the priority for black leadership, and actions in the North and Northeast and/or in traditional communities.

Among the 310 initiatives registered for the award, more than half of the participants (55%) are led by black and brown individuals, and 61% of them are led by women.

For the selection, a jury of nine people was formed, including representatives from civil society, the third sector, researchers and academics, the public sector, including names such as Aline Czezacki (FAO), Gustavo Porpino (EMBRAPA), Iara Rolnik (INSTITUTO IBIRAPITANGA), Luiz Gusi (CURITIBA CITY HALL), Regina Tchelly (FAVELA ORGÂNICA), and Rosana Sperandio (UNESCO).

MEET THE WINNERS OF THE PACT AGAINST HUNGER AWARD

 Category Promotion of food security:

• Assistential: Orgânico Solidário, São Paulo – SP
  Orgânico Solidário seeks to democratize access to organic foods by bridging donors, products, and beneficiaries. Through the received donations, the NGO buys products directly from small farmers, assembles baskets, and delivers them to families in need. Since its foundation in 2020, more than 85,000 baskets have been delivered, involving a hundred farmers and benefiting 80 communities.

• Structuring: Instituto Novo Sertão, Projeto Quintais Produtivos Agroecológicos, Betânia do Piauí – PI
  The initiative provides training courses in family farming for the local population. In addition to growing their own food, part of the production is sold, generating income for the family. Between 2021 and 2022, the project generated over R$ 60,000 in income through the sale of surplus, in addition to promoting food security for the sertaneja community.

Category combating hunger:

• Assistential: Cáritas Brasileira, Projeto Sumaúma: Nutrindo Vidas, Boa Vista – RR
  The Sumaúma: Nutrindo Vidas project offers two meals a day (breakfast and lunch) for people in vulnerable situations in the city of Boa Vista. More than just feeding, the initiative promotes nutrition through a balanced and healthy diet, prepared with the guidance of a nutritionist. In one year, 16,000 people were impacted.

• Structuring: Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra, Projeto Campanha Mãos Solidárias, Recife – PE
  Through the People’s Food Banks, the initiative collects and stores part of the food produced and donated by local settled farmers, distributing it to the population in vulnerable situations. In partnership with Fiocruz, they also offer training courses for Popular Health and Communication Agents, promoting community autonomy. Since 2020, they have distributed more than 1.7 million meals in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, built 50 food banks, and 13 solidarity kitchens, and trained 1,300 popular agents.

Category food waste:

• Assistential: Associação Good Truck Brasil, Projeto Logística do Bem, Curitiba – PR
  The project allocates healthy and nutritious food that would be discarded by commerce and industry to those in need. The delivery is done in partnership with community leaders and residents’ associations. Every month, about 25 tons of food that would be wasted are redirected, feeding 770 families per week, distributed in five cities in Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Campinas, Curitiba, Juiz de Fora, and São Paulo).

• Structuring: Associação de Resgate a Dignidade Humana, Projeto Programa Somos + VIP, Vila Princesa, Porto Velho – RO
  Vila Princesa formed around the landfill over 30 years ago. This initiative has three fronts: a solidarity garden, where training is provided for people to work in the garden; the Solidarity Fair, where fruits and vegetables are collected from partner markets and then distributed in a fair format; and, in parallel, the awareness work (I Lead), a socioemotional development program for children and adolescents.

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