Federal Court obliges city in COP30 host state to provide school meals to Indigenous children

By Fabyo Cruz – From Cenarium

BELÉM (PA) – The Federal Court has ordered the Municipality of Jacareacanga (PA), a city 1,154 kilometers from the capital Belém, to immediately and regularly ensure the provision of school meals to municipal schools located on Indigenous lands of the Munduruku people. CENARIUM revealed in May this year the absence of meals after complaints from Indigenous leaders of the Restinga Village.

The report obtained a video in which children appear receiving as a meal a spoonful of chibé – food prepared with manioc flour, water, and salt. At the time, a leader of the Munduruku people, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, reported that the lack of school meals has persisted since 2023 and has caused outrage among the parents of Indigenous children.

In addition to the lack of food, there are also complaints about the absence of school transportation. Faced with this neglect, some families have reportedly given up taking their children to school, while others have resorted to community collections to buy fuel and ensure access to classes.

The problem had been reported during the VII Pusuruduk Meeting, held in 2023, and worsened in the following months. At the Paygo Baxewat’pu School, in the Pesqueirão Village, the community reported that the months of February, March, and April went by without any supply of school meals. In May, the situation remained unchanged. During recess, students stayed without any meals and sometimes went hungry inside the classroom.

Court Ruling

The urgent court decision also imposes obligations on the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE) to ensure the proper use of resources allocated for school meals. The measure responds to a lawsuit filed by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), which denounces systematic omission by the municipality in executing the public policy of school feeding, despite regular federal transfers since 2023.

The MPF reported that, up to May 2025, the municipal administration had still not concluded the bidding process for food procurement, which directly compromised the right to food for hundreds of Indigenous children.

The Federal Court stated that, in just the first four months of 2025, the FNDE transferred nearly R$355,000 to the Municipality of Jacareacanga for Indigenous school meals, eliminating any justification based on lack of resources. In total, over R$600,000 have been transferred to the municipality since the beginning of the year.

Given the gravity of the situation, the court ordered the municipality to:

• Urgently purchase food and deliver it, within 15 days, to all Indigenous schools in sufficient quantity for at least 60 days;
• Present a detailed accounting of the resources from the National School Feeding Program (Pnae) received in 2025;
• And, within 30 days, present a plan for regular food provision, with wide dissemination to Indigenous communities.

Failure to comply with the determinations may result in a daily fine of R$5,000 to the municipality.

Regarding the FNDE, the decision orders the immediate suspension of direct transfers to Jacareacanga and the allocation of the amounts into a judicial account, with release conditioned on proof of need and effective measures for acquiring school meals.

Violation of Rights

Federal Prosecutor Thaís Medeiros da Costa, responsible for the lawsuit, stated that the lack of school meals directly violates the rights to education, health, and dignity of Indigenous children and adolescents. According to her, the situation contributes to school dropout, illness, and hunger. In many cases, the school meal is the only meal of the day.

Contacted by the report, the mayor of Jacareacanga has not yet commented on the court decision. CENARIUM remains available to the municipal administration for clarification.

Edited by Adrisa De Góes
Translated from Portuguese by Gustô Alves