Coronavirus pandemic is taking lots of Brazilian families into a situation of famine. At the same time, there are small farmers and fishermen with difficulties to sell their production. As they face the loss of their produce, they also lose their income. For this reason, Instituto Brasil a Gosto – whose mission is to research, document and promote Brazilian culinary – is calling all the society to action: let’s keep both ends of the national food chain working. The time to ac t is now! Join us and make a donation!
After working with quilombolas (Brazilian traditional rural communities whose members descend from former slaves) in the region of Vale do Ribeira (South of São Paulo) last year (click here to read more about it), the Instituto Brasil a Gosto has gotten closer to those families reality. We are doing this campaign because we recognize the social and historical importance of these communities and their activities.
The main goal is to give food kits to families in a situation of vulnerability and, at the same time, help quilombolas and caiçaras (other Brazilian traditional communities from the coast, related as well indigenous people) to drain their production and guarantee their income.
These communities used to sell their production to feed kids from public schools in São Paulo state. But as the classes have stopped with the pandemic, tons of produce (bananas, pumpkins, lettuce, tangerine, hearts of palm and yam) from the Cooperativa dos Agricultores Quilombolas do Vale do Ribeira – Cooperquivale has been pilling up.
To use the surplus production and help the hungry people we, Cooperquivale, Instituto Socioambiental, caiçara community of Enseada da Baleia and Instituto Linha D’água are working together to buy this food and redistribute it for those who need it.
Each food kit will have at least 10 out of 26 items produced by Cooperquivale according to the season, making a 15 kg kit that will also have 1 kg of dried fish from traditional fishermen communities of the region of Ilha do Cardoso and processed by the Comunidade Caiçara da Enseada da Baleia. Some items that might be in the kits are hearts of palm, manioc, lime, yam, bananas, chayote, honey, rapadura and taiada (products form sugarcane), manioc flour, sweet potatoes, lettuce, parsley, coriander, spring onions and kale. Real food with affection to feed families in the cities of Eldorado, Iporanga and São Paulo.
The first part of this project has the support of Good Energies and the European Union and has benefited 716 families from 18 Guarani communities, 2 quilombos, people from the cities of Eldorado e Iporanga connected with Ação Social and Associação Mulheres Unidas por uma Vida Melhor (Amuvim) and people from the South region of Snao Paulo capital associated with ONG Bloco do Beco and other social initiatives (read more here). Each kit lasts only a month or less, so hence the need to continue and extend this action. This is exactly how we can make the difference together.
This initiative is complementary to an action started by Instituto Brasil a Gosto in March, when the quarantine measures started in São Paulo and Brasil as a way to minimize the spread of coronavirus. For two months, this Institution, founded and chaired by the chef Ana Luiza Trajano has taken the expertise in creating content about the Brazilian culinary to launch a series of more than 60 videos of recipes and organization tips in our social networks promoting tasty and balanced diets at home. More than 50 recipes were developed using ingredients that are the basis of Brazilian eating habits, which are easy to find and to transform into delicious and practical dishes, avoiding waste. Ana Luiza Trajano taught all these recipes that are now available in YouTube and IGTV channels of Instituto Brasil a Gosto (click here to watch). Now, with the mission to amplify this project, we joined forces with other entities to give away basic food baskets that can help make a difference for lots of families. You can be part of this collective action.
How to help: the campaign has a crowd funding at Kickante platform (click here). You can make donations starting with R$ 10 and choose rewards. Donating R$180 you will receive an e-book with recipes from Instituto Brasil a Gosto and chef Ana Luiza Trajano. Donating R$ 400, you can have access to a video with chef and researcher Max Jaques about ingredients from Mata Atlântica region (Atlantic Forest) and how to use them in typical Brazilian dishes. Donating R$ 700 give grants access to a live online class with Ana Luiza Trajano teaching a Brazilian recipe. You can make the donations in reais or in foreign currencies and it is possible to pay in up to 6 instalments (in donations starting at R$ 25).
