Subsidized Restaurants--a better way of life for the poor

Belo Horizonte has two subsidized restaurants that feed 6000 people a day a basic no-frills lunch. The people pay a small charge and the city pays twice that. I'm not sure how they decide who gets to eat at this restaurant.
Here's one article about the restaurants:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.mds.gov.br/noticias/restaurante-popular-de-belo-horizonte-servira-10-mil-refeicoes-dia&ei=u4UDStGGLdnHtgeK2_j4Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drestaurante%2Bpopular%2Bbelo%2Bhorizonte%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GZEZ_en-GBUS286US286

They are designed to help people who can't afford to eat nutritionally and to help low-income workers who make their main meal of the day outside the home. They're usually frequented by the unemployed, students, retirees and elderly residents who are homeless.
These restaurants give the public access to healthy food at affordable prices. It sort of seems like a K&W, except even more affordable.

The Solidarity Network of Popular Restaurants is for vulnerable groups and workers who, for lack of time or resources, can not access a healthy meal at least once a day.

In Belo Horizonte, workers pay R $ 0.25 for breakfast, U.S. $ 1.00 for lunch and $ 0.50 for a soup served at night. The city subsidizes 50% of meals served to employees. The weekly menu prioritizes food quality, cost and regional foods. Foods are purchased from traders, plus greens and vegetables are purchased from small producers in the region.

Many people can't get to these restaurants, and the city brings meals to them. (This is similar to Meals on Wheels, where volunteers bring meals cooked by the Food Bank to those who aren't able to get their own food.)

Here is a link to another article about popular restaurants, with the highlights listed below:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.mds.gov.br/ascom/revistas/mds/restaurantes.htm&ei=u4UDStGGLdnHtgeK2_j4Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=9&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drestaurante%2Bpopular%2Bbelo%2Bhorizonte%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GZEZ_en-GBUS286US286

This year, the MDS (Ministry of Social Development & Combating Hunger) invested about $32,000 in the purchase of 10 tons of fruit pulp, benefiting 30 local farmers. The objective was to reduce the monthly amount of subsidies and at the same time create jobs in farming around the city.

According to a survey conducted by the Municipal Department for External Supply of Belo Horizonte, 53% of users of the popular restaurants have income of up to two minimum wages, which in most cases is not sufficient to access a supply of quality food, which contributes to the situation of food insecurity and malnutrition in the country. According to the National Food Security (Consea), the poorest families spend most of their income on food. This was the condition of life for most Brazilians. Now miniumum wage workers are able to spend less money on good quality food, and they're able to save a little money, too.

The program of popular restaurants, according to the Consea, has the effect of social inclusion and promotes local production. It also generates direct jobs for the same population in a situation of food insecurity. In Belo Horizonte, for example, the services of popular restaurants are outsourced. Only supervision, financial control, preparation of menus and realization of purchases through bidding, are responsibilities of municipal authorities.

The two restaurants generate 110 direct jobs between managers, nutritionists, experts in nutrition, stockman, and kitchen assistants, cooks and janitors. The People's Restaurant is a priority program for major urban centers and metropolitan regions. Other organizations that help this endeavor are the Purchase of Food from Family Agriculture (EAP), community gardens and crops, and programs that train workers and training of professionals in the field of gastronomy.

Ways we can get involved:
--Work with the city and state to encourage the exploration and development of a popular restaurant(s) in our area where people could easily access it every day (maybe near the Health Center?)
--Work with the Second Harvest Food Bank to see if they could start one of these restaurants. Research shows that our statistics of the malnourished are similar to those in Brazil. Minimum wage earners who spend most of their money on food and as a result, have no savings for electricity, transportation and other basic needs.
Please post any questions, ideas, comments you have about subsidized restaurants.