Brasília, December 29, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - One million and seventy families received assistance from the Zero Hunger Program this year. Christmas was different for Catarina and her two daughters. "Before, it was difficult. We didn't have money. Now, we were able to buy some soft drinks and meat to have on Christmas Eve," she said.

Before the program, these families had difficulty buying food for their daily meals. With the food card worth R$ 50, the domestic worker makes purchases at the supermarket every month. "All we used to eat was rice and beans. Sometimes, not even that. I didn't have money. I make only100 reais each month, that's very little," Catarina laments.

The Zero Hunger Program began in February of this year in the city of Guaribas, in Piauí. From the Northeast it proceeded to the North and other states with low-income people. Indians, communities of descendants of runaway slaves, and landless workers were also benefitted.

According to the executive secretary of the Ministry of Food Security and Hunger Alleviation, Flávio Botelho, around R$ 3 billion were distributed to the families this year. Next year's goal is to make available over R$ 5 billion. "Next year I want to distribute R$ 5.3 billion to 3.6 million families. We will have more families, though the number has not yet been set, and we want to establish food banks, popular restaurants, and gardens and install twenty other programs covered under the Zero Hunger 'umbrella,' " the secretary said.

According to Botelho, the Zero Hunger Program also includes a series of activities aimed at constructing wells and houses, stimulating agricultural production, and creating jobs. (DAS)