25/ 47Hunger and food
Brazil returned to the Hunger Map under Bolsonaro. It left under Lula.
Brazil returned to the Hunger Map in 2021, under Flávio’s father’s government, and left in 2025, under Lula’s government[1]. Under Lula’s government, food insecurity fell from 27.6% to 24.2% of households between 2023 and 2024[2].
Each indicator has its own scale. Compare bars within each block.
Lula 1 and 2: less severe food insecurity
Households with severe food insecurity (%) · linear scale with zero
PNAD, IBGE: surveys conducted during the first and second terms, not at their endpoints. This block uses severe food insecurity, while the recent block includes all levels. They do not form a single series.
View the figures in a table
| Government | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Lula 1 | 6.9% | 2004 |
| Lula 2 | 5.0% | 2009 |
How much food at home rose in price
IPCA · annual change (%) · linear scale with zero
Left of zero: decrease. Right: increase.
- Jair Bolsonaro7.84%
2019[4]
- Jair Bolsonaro18.15%
2020[4]
- Jair Bolsonaro8.24%
2021[5]
- Jair Bolsonaro13.23%
2022[6]
- Lula-0.52%
2023· decrease[7]
- Lula8.23%
2024[8]
- Lula1.43%
2025[8]
All full years from 2019 to 2025. A smaller increase still means higher prices. One year’s fall does not undo earlier rises. We do not compare totals for terms of different lengths.
View the figures in a table
| Government | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Jair Bolsonaro | 7.84% | 2019 |
| Jair Bolsonaro | 18.15% | 2020 |
| Jair Bolsonaro | 8.24% | 2021 |
| Jair Bolsonaro | 13.23% | 2022 |
| Lula | -0.52% | 2023 |
| Lula | 8.23% | 2024 |
| Lula | 1.43% | 2025 |
Fewer homes with food insecurity
Households with some level of food insecurity (%) · linear scale with zero
PNAD Contínua, IBGE: includes mild, moderate and severe food insecurity. Both years are under Lula’s government. These household percentages are not the FAO’s undernourishment measure or inflation.
View the figures in a table
| Government | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Lula | 27.6% | 2023 |
| Lula | 24.2% | 2024 |
Lula 1 and 2
Progress began earlier
Severe food insecurity fell from 6.9% of households in 2004, during Lula’s first term, to 5.0% in 2009, during his second[3]. These surveys were conducted during the terms, not a comparison between inauguration and the last day in office.
Brazil saw a further reduction to 3.2% in 2013, under Dilma[3]. The first exit from the Hunger Map came in 2014, after more than a decade of stronger social protection and investment in food security[1].
Hunger
Leaving the map does not mean zero hunger
The exit announced in 2025 covers the three years 2022–2024, including Bolsonaro’s final year. The average share of undernourished people fell below 2.5%, the FAO threshold. The first exit was in 2014, under Dilma’s government[1].
During Bolsonaro’s government, the PENSSAN survey estimated 33.1 million people in households with severe food insecurity. Data was collected between November 2021 and April 2022[9]. This is a different survey: we do not subtract this total from IBGE data.
Initiatives
What the government did against hunger
Lula’s government expanded school meals, the Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos, community kitchens and food banks[1]; food insecurity fell from 27.6% to 24.2% of households[2].
The UN (ONU) also cites support for family and urban farming and the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, launched under Brazilian leadership at the G20. Families left Bolsa Família as their incomes rose[1]. The survey does not measure the effect of each program.
Food
Families still go without food
Under Lula’s government, food insecurity fell from 27.6% to 24.2% of households between 2023 and 2024. Severe food insecurity fell from 4.1% to 3.2%[2]. The improvement does not end the problem.
Prices
Relief was not continuous
Context
The result and the shocks
The pandemic, costs, freight, weather and the war in Ukraine put pressure on food prices[6]. In 2025, a record harvest and a falling dollar helped ease prices[10]. The changes are not exclusively the effect of one president.
The comparison is between the governments of Lula and Jair Bolsonaro, Flávio’s father. The indicators describe those periods without attributing the father’s actions to the son. Access to food also matters when choosing.
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References10 sources
- 01ONU / FAO · ARTIGO: Brasil voltou a sair do Mapa da FomeReturn in 2021, exit over 2022–2024, 2.5% threshold, first exit in 2014 and initiatives: school meals, PAA, community kitchens, food banks, family farming and the Global Alliance.(opens in a new tab)
- 02IBGE · PNAD Contínua: Segurança Alimentar 2024 — apresentação dos resultadosPNAD Contínua: some level of food insecurity in 27.6% of households in 2023 and 24.2% in 2024; severe in 4.1% and 3.2%.(opens in a new tab)
- 03Consea / IBGE · IBGE divulga PNAD sobre segurança alimentar no BrasilPNAD: severe food insecurity in 6.9% of households in 2004, 5.0% in 2009 and 3.2% in 2013.(opens in a new tab)
- 04Banco Central · Relatório de Inflação – março de 2021Page 69: food at home rose in price by 7.84% in 2019 and 18.15% in 2020.(opens in a new tab)
- 05IBGE · Sistema Nacional de Índices de Preços ao Consumidor — IPCA e INPC — Dezembro de 2021Page 14: food at home rose in price by 8.24% in 2021.(opens in a new tab)
- 06Ipea · Inflação de alimentos: como se comportaram os preços em 2022Food at home rose in price by 13.23% in 2022; shocks from the pandemic, weather, costs and war.(opens in a new tab)
- 07Banco Central · Relatório de Inflação – março de 2024IPCA components table in 2023: food at home fell in price by 0.52%.(opens in a new tab)
- 08IBGE · Sistema Nacional de Índices de Preços ao Consumidor — IPCA e INPC — Dezembro de 2025Page 15: food at home rose in price by 8.23% in 2024 and 1.43% in 2025; eating out, by 6.97% in 2025.(opens in a new tab)
- 09Rede de Estudos Rurais · Pesquisa da Rede PENSSAN aponta crescimento da fome e insegurança alimentarPENSSAN: 33.1 million in households with severe food insecurity; data collected from November 2021 to April 2022.(opens in a new tab)
- 10Folha de S.Paulo · Inflação da alimentação perde força em casa e acelera fora em 2025A record harvest and a falling dollar helped contain food inflation in 2025.(opens in a new tab)