Case Study of the School Feeding Program in Distrito Federal, Brazil: Building Quality in Short Food Supply Chains

Abstract

This article seeks to analyze the public procurement program for school feeding in Distrito Federal, Brazil from the perspective of short food supply chains (SFSCs) and quality construction. Semi-structured interviews were applied to key actors involved in the Program. The results of this research show that, mainly through the regulations around Food and Nutritional Security and in the encouragement of local family farmer markets, the State has acted for a quality shift through public purchases and, mainly by means of norms such as laws, decrees, and normative instructions, induced a quality change in the production and consumption processes. This study contributed to an understanding of how Executing Entities such as states are working to acquire local and quality agricultural products, which benefits local farmers and improves the quality of school meals.