Seletividade e qualidade da alimentação escolar no Brasil e sua interface com a agricultura familiar

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze food selectivity in Brazilian schools, considering the nutritional quality of the food offered and its relationship with family farming. The methodology adopted was a systematic review with a spatial focus on Brazil, encompassing publications between 2015 and 2025. The search was conducted in the SciELO, CAPES Journals, and Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD) databases, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Observational, qualitative, and quasi-experimental studies conducted in public basic education that presented primary data on acceptance, consumption, and supply were included. Methodological quality was assessed using instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute and ROBINS-I. At the end of the screening, 13 studies were selected. The results pointed to a regional dichotomy, such that in the North and Northeast regions, adherence to school meals is high, acting as a social protection factor, but the quality is often compromised by logistical and administrative bottlenecks in municipal management. In the South and Southeast regions, selective eating is associated with unfair competition from school cafeterias and ultra-processed foods brought from home, exacerbated among adolescents. It was found that the participation of family farming is the most powerful variable for improving the quality of food supply and introducing fresh foods, although its implementation is hampered by state bureaucracy. It is concluded that selective eating in the school environment is a phenomenon influenced by structural, institutional, and cultural factors. Addressing it requires strict regulation of the school environment with a ban on the sale of ultra-processed foods, technical training for managers to implement local purchases, and the implementation of continuous Food and Nutrition Education to restore the cultural value of food.