Education as a strategy to fight poverty and undernutrition is a proposal that comes together with the growth and development of a nation. The elementary school environment seems to offer unique conditions for the acquisition of healthy feeding practices, considering the presence of both children and teachers sharing the same place and time. Feeding behavior is a consequence of experiences from many relational levels, from interpersonal, to environmental, community, and even political. The interaction between education area and the National Scholar Feeding Program can result in a relevant proposal with feasibility and sustainability. However, the policy execution faces technical limitations, which demand attention of the nutritionists and policy managers and, moreover, the teachers commitment is still in the beginning. The challenge is to promote collaboration and exchange of knowledge across nutrition and education areas. The paper discusses the technical approach that sustains the nutritionist practice, as well as the limits faced by teachers, considering the quality of the educational system in Brazil.
Feeding practices; Poverty; Malnutrition; School feeding