LUPPA’s main mission is to increase the number of Brazilian cities that develop strategic, multi-year food policies, and one of the project’s goals is to strengthen this agenda in the Amazon region.

That is why, in our first edition, we established an award to be granted to an Amazonian city: advisory support for building a municipal food and nutrition security plan. The city selected after LUPPA’s immersive activities was Rio Branco, in Acre.

Last Monday, April 11, we held the initial working meeting, attended by representatives of Instituto Comida do Amanhã, ICLEI América do Sul (ICLEI South America), the Mayor of Rio Branco, members of the municipal departments of environment, planning, education and agriculture, and civil society representatives linked to the Collaborating Center for School Food and Nutrition – Cecane of the Federal University of Acre and to the Social Assistance Council, reinforcing the role of intersectoral work and public participation in making the work effective.

At the meeting, Rio Branco’s “anchor project”, developed during the LUPPA workshops, was presented. It provides for the expansion of community gardens and school community gardens and encourages children and young people to engage with healthy eating and gain access to environmental education.

Mayor Tião Bocalom mentioned the importance of the project for the municipality of Rio Branco: “It is fundamental that you chose Rio Branco and gave us this award. This joint work is an opportunity for us to keep moving forward in building our food and nutrition security plan, the first to be developed here in Acre.”

Francine Xavier, director of Instituto Comida do Amanhã and one of LUPPA’s coordinators, took part in the meeting and highlighted that “Rio Branco gains the opportunity to build its food and nutrition security plan. For us, too, being able to work alongside you is a great reward.” The work plan to be followed over the coming months was also agreed upon during the meeting.

We are very happy to begin this joint journey because we believe that when policies are built in an integrated, coherent way, with social participation and a systemic view of food; when they are strategically planned and monitored and focused on territorial dynamics, they are able to deliver effective, lasting and legitimate results, and are therefore successful.