Rio, May 5, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The Minister of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation, Patrus Ananias, had lunch yesterday (4) with the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Rosinha Matheus, at the Herbert de Souza community restaurant, in the Brazil Central terminal, the most important urban train station in the city of Rio, as well as the principal setting of the recent Brazilian film, "Central Station."

Ananias said that the federal government intends to establish community restaurants in municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants. The federal government will provide resources and equipment, while it is up to state governments to operate the restaurants.

The Minister guaranteed that the resources are available, but he underscored that the amounts and time frames will depend upon the partnerships formed with the states. He also remarked that the project will respect the characteristics and peculiarities of each region. In addition, the restaurants will not be profit-oriented.

There are eight community restaurants in Rio de Janeiro. In four years they have served a total of over 12 million meals for the price of US$ 0.33 (R$ 1.00). They are administered by third parties.

The restaurant where the Minister had lunch is named after the late sociologist, Herbert de Souza ("Betinho"), creator of the non-governmental organization "Citizens' Action against Hunger and Extreme Poverty and for Life," which has organized campaigns to collect food for the needy population and has coordinated activities aimed at enhancing the value of citizenship. The restaurant was inaugurated in November, 1999.

Translator: David Silberstein