Helping women put food on the table in Latin America

Lower household income has been consistently associated with poorer diet quality across the world.

Studies also show that supporting women is the most effective way to reduce the risk of hunger within a family. In fact, for every dollar made by a man, a woman earns 77 cents, and 90% of that income is invested on their family, compared to 40% for men.

Because of this, our unique philanthropic cause Stop Hunger, consciously aims to empower women around the world.

Two Stop Hunger projects in Latin America are focusing on just that, empowering women from disadvantaged suburbs with knowledge and training to enable them to better support their families boost the nutrition of a whole community.

School Kitchen in Brazil

The ‘School Kitchen’ is a training course for vulnerable aspiring female cooks, kitchen assistants and culinary entrepreneurs from the community of Grajaú, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Grajau is one of the most deprived areas in the city with one of the highest rates of domestic violence against women.

The training course, designed to host 4 classes of 12 students per year, has just completed its 8th intake students. The course last for five weeks and covers topics such as food safety, business model, interview techniques, sales and nutrition as well as how to make certain dishes, delivered through a mix of virtual and in-person classes.

The initiative was set up in partnership with the local NGO Anchieta Grajau Institute (IAG), local Sodexo client Electrolux together with Electrolux Food Foundation as well as Stop Hunger and Sodexo.  

• IAG provide the building for the ‘school kitchen’, select the students for the course and manage the cleaning.
• Electrolux donated appliances such as stoves, electric cookers, blenders, processors and utensils and the Electrolux Food Foundation created the course curriculum.
• Sodexo provides the majority of the volunteer instructors, chefs, nutritionists and specialists in communication and HR whilst Stop Hunger runs the program and provides the food supplies.