So, yeah, I think community, in my mind, is looking out for your neighbors, knowing your neighbors, you know, being aware of the challenges that exist within, that your neighbors might be facing at the moment and having compassion to reach out and lend a hand.
In 1993, Belo Horizonte had 11 percent of its population living in acute poverty, and almost 20 percent of children being classified as food insecure. When new mayor Patrus Ananias came on the scene, he ushered in an administration that established the responsibility of the government to supply cheap, affordable meals to all citizens. To achieve this mission, Ananias assembled a council of different sectors of society, including business, religion, and labor. This was important, because right from the get go, Belo Horizonte choose to prioritize intersectionality and cross-caste solidarity.1 In the reading Active Hope, Jennie Stephens likens this shift in activist consciousness to trees extending their roots in a system, “allowing ourselves to grow from a deeper pool of strength,” as the city had already involved citizens in the meetings to discuss allocating municipal resources. During the first few years since the food-as-human-right policy was championed, the number of citizens involved in the participatory budget process doubled to over 31,000, a marked increase. According to the reading Social Cohesion as a Climate Strategy, community resilience is centered around “connectedness and cohesion of social networks and relationships”. This was the essence of the strategy deployed by BH’s government to tackle the crisis from an intersectional standpoint. Departments were created to delegate duties and organize aims and objectives. The Department for the Promotion of Food Consumption and Nutrition was responsible for educating on healthy eating and distribution to low income populations. The Department for Administration of Food Distribution was founded to work directly with vendors and producers. And the Department for Incentives to Basic Food Production provides local communities with the knowledge that they need to produce fruits and vegetables.2
1M Jahi Chappell, et al. Beginning to End Hunger : Food and the Environment in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and Beyond. Project Muse, Oakland, California, 2015.
2Maja Göpel. Celebrating the Belo Horizonte Food Security Programme. World Future Council, 2010, www.worldfuturecouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/WFC_2009_Future_Policy_Award.pdf. Accessed 3 May 2024.