OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed the internal functioning, organization and political participation of the local food and nutrition security council and possible implications of their participation on the creation of a municipal food and nutrition security policy in the city of São Paulo. METHODS: This qualitative study was done in three stages: document analysis; observation of meetings and semi-structured interviews with board members considered key informants. The axis of analysis was the political participation of the council, considering its internal aspects, like board members, operating dynamics of political participation of its members and the relationship between these topics and the council's actions for the definition and creation of a food and nutrition security policy. RESULTS: The intellectual profile of the board members does not represent the majority of the population, thereby facilitating the omission of actual issues in council discussions. Its strict internal dynamics and the asymmetry of its members generally prevent the active participation of board members and, specifically, discussions about a food and nutrition security policy. The so-called "militant members" have a differentiated, more aggressive participation, with greater mastery of the subject and its topics. CONCLUSION: The board member profiles, internal organization of the council, complexity of the subject and its low insertion in the society distance the council from social needs and lead them to act incipiently with regard to the municipal policies of food and nutrition security.
Councils; Participation; Food security
