Food acquisition by families benefiting from the bolsa familia program

Abstract

It is the government's responsibility to create and implement public policies that promote food and nutritional security for the population, notably for groups exposed to poverty. One of the programs created by the Brazilian government to help in this scenario was Bolsa Família. This research aimed to evaluate the contribution of the Bolsa Família Program to the acquisition of food by beneficiaries. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, carried out with beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família Program assisted in a Basic Health Unit in the city of Teresina (Piauí). The instruments used for data collection consisted of two forms applied to 202 adults responsible for purchasing food from families who spontaneously agreed to participate in the research. The research followed the ethical aspects recommended by resolution n^o 466/2012. The scenario found reveals that 78.7% of families received the benefit more than a year ago; 70.3% lived in their own home; 33.1% shared the household with four or more people; 68.8% had an income of less than the minimum wage, and 52.5% allocated the benefit to food, associated with other expenses. Note that the predominant frequency of purchase of food was in the following order: monthly, weekly and fortnightly. The food group with the highest number of purchases was fresh or minimally processed food, followed by processed culinary ingredients. The processed and ultra-processed food groups had low acquisition at all frequencies. It is concluded that the program has an important contribution to the acquisition of food items, especially essential items.