Sesc São Paulo Mesa Brasil (Brazil Table)

This ongoing social initiative is based on the principle that food is a universal right. Companies, institutions and volunteers all work with Sesc São Paulo Mesa Brasil to decrease food waste, increase food and nutritional security and promote better quality of life for those receiving assistance.

The program consists of two parts. Part one, Urban Collection, is a logistical operation that involves collecting and immediately distributing no-resale-value, but safe for consumption, food donations from companies, thereby establishing connections between businesses and social institutions. The goal is to match food surplus to food shortage, adding nutritional value to the meals served at institutions and diminishing food waste.

Part two consists of educational activities, such as courses, classes, seminars and workshops for corporate donors, social institutions and communities, designed to provide information, guidance and training on food hygiene, proper handling and the like so that foods can be used to the fullest extent possible to prepare safe, healthy and balanced meals. These activities are ongoing and were developed by food safety specialists who work with volunteers and in partnership with universities.

This program operates in the following centers in the Greater São Paulo Metropolitan Area: Campo Limpo, Carmo, Interlagos, Itaquera, Osasco and Santo André); and in the following centers in the state of São Paulo and coastal areas: Araraquara, Bauru, Campinas, Jundiaí, Piracicaba, Ribeirão Preto, Rio Preto, Santos, São Carlos, São José dos Campos, Sorocaba and Taubaté. In 2021 alone, Sesc São Paulo Mesa Brasil served nearly 154,000 people with the help of 1.300 social institutions and in partnership with 1.100 corporate donors.

The Sesc São Paulo Mesa Brasil program also includes a food bank, or the Mesa Brasil Receiving and Storage Center (CECAM), that can stock up to 400 tons of food and includes space for a fleet of four trucks.