Social technology aimed at food security in schools, employing data science and promoting protagonism and integration between school cooks and family farmers in the region to provide healthy and nutritious meals for all children and adolescents.

Current Status

The current focus is on consolidating the scaling structure and reapplying the methodology, which ensures greater capacity for territorial expansion. The project expands the technological resources of the NHAM application, improves functionalities and data monitoring, and integrates with the TAG (Technology Support for Management) software to enhance analyses. Simultaneously, NHAM deepens its convergence with TS Oficina de Negócios, strengthening the development of its social business model.

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History

The development of NHAM began in 2021 as a natural demand for TS Iron-Deficiency Anemia Battle, of diagnosis and combat of iron deficiency anemia in schools, whose main cause lies in unhealthy nutrition.

NHAM integrates TAG Social Technologies and Iron-Deficiency Anemia Battle. The Iron-Deficiency Anemia Battle collects data on weight, height and hemoglobin levels without blood, which allows evaluating malnutrition or obesity and whether or not someone has a picture of iron deficiency anemia. Iron-Deficiency Anemia Battle orientates the needs of a special diet for groups of students, who will be monitored. In case of TAG we do not have stock control, or control the frequency of the students in the school and the elaboration of the cards, under the supervision of the nutritionist of the municipality. These information, in turn, help in the integration between demand of schools and supply of family agriculture, making it possible to guide the planning of planting and marketing of the production of family farmers, through the National School Feeding Program (PNAE).

In 2022, NHAM sought to strengthen the role of the school cooks as educational agents in Food Safety and Nutrition, through training cycles and development of support materials on the topic. In the same year, school cooks applied as instrument to diagnose the degree of acceptability of school meals by students, serving as a basis for preparing school menus. Finally, a new functionality for managing students' school attendance was developed to support school cooks in preparing meals. In 2023, NHAM continued with acceptability tests in four schools in Santa Luzia do Itanhy. Furthermore, in partnership with the TAG team, the cortex equipment was tested, developed by the team to use biometrics to control students' attendance at school and the students' menu, aiming to reduce food wasting. During this year, we had the collaboration of 13 school cooks, resulting in direct benefits for 90 children, 55 teachers and 101 families, in addition to indirectly impacting around 800 children. In 2022, NHAM focused on training school lunch workers as educators in Food Security and Nutrition, through training cycles and support materials. They also assessed the acceptance of school lunches by students, using the data to improve menus. In 2023, school lunch workers continued to play an active role, teaching classes, creating educational resources, and holding workshops to build vegetable gardens. A highlight was the development of software for menu management and inventory control, in addition to the implementation of the Cortex system to optimize the distribution of school lunches. These initiatives directly impacted 90 children and indirectly impacted 801, in addition to contributing to the preparation of the Support and Pedagogical Material (MAP). In 2024, NHAM promoted several initiatives focused on Food and Nutrition Education, with a course taught by school lunch workers standing out. In addition, a children's sensory book on Food Security and Nutrition was developed and school gardens were built in selected institutions in Santa Luzia do Itanhy. The year was also marked by the implementation of new features and improvements to the TAG system, as well as improvements to the family farmer app. To further strengthen the training of school lunch workers, courses focused on agroecological foods were held, consolidating the commitment to promoting health and nutritional education in the community, in addition to increasing the protagonism of school lunch workers and farmers involved in the construction of social technology. In 2025, the initiative achieved consistent results by consolidating the role of the school cook as a key educational agent in Food and Nutritional Security within the municipal context. This professional recognition was accompanied by the implementation of new functionalities in the technological ecosystem, with the evolution of the TAG (Technology Support for Management) system integrated into NHAM, which allowed for even more precise monitoring and more efficient intersectoral management. By strengthening the link between data technology and human action at the grassroots level, the project reaffirmed its impact on promoting integrated public policies, ensuring that school meals are simultaneously a vector of health and a pedagogical instrument for social transformation.