Contributor(s): | Once considered a policy success case for promoting food security, Brazil has now returned to the UN Hunger Map. In 2022, more than half of Brazil’s population was experiencing some degree of food insecurity and severe food insecurity impacted more than 33 million urban residents. In highly unequal Brazilian cities, this issue affects mostly low-income racialised residents in the urban fringes where infrastructural exclusion further constrains access to nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate food. This short film introduces the interdisciplinary research project “Engineering food: infrastructure exclusion and ‘last mile’ delivery in Brazilian favelas”, a collaboration between LSE, Insper and Birkbeck, funded by the British Academy, that explores the last mile gaps in food accessibility in Brazilian low-income neighbourhoods. Featuring interviews with the research team and community leaders in Brazil, the film focuses on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and initiatives emerging to address hunger. It stresses the role of women and community organisations in closing the last mile gap and invites further attention and investment in local actors to tackle inequalities in food access.
