Segurança alimentar e nutricional na cidade de São Paulo: o papel das tecnologias digitais e políticas públicas nas dimensões de disponibilidade, acesso, utilização e estabilidade

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the synergistic contribution between digital technologies and public policies for the promotion of Food and Nutritional Security (SAN, in Portuguese) in the city of São Paulo, analyzed under the dimensions of availability, access, utilization, and stability. Methodologically, the research applies a qualitative single-case study, grounded in the triangulation of documentary data and semi-structured interviews with seven multisectoral experts, whose accounts underwent Content Analysis. The results confirm that food insecurity in the São Paulo metropolis does not stem from productive scarcity, but from bottlenecks in economic and logistical access, marked by profound inequality and the presence of food deserts. Innovative digital solutions, such as foodtechs and precision urban agriculture, act promisingly in reducing waste and optimizing logistics in supply chains. However, the research reveals that the adoption of these technologies without proper mitigation aggravates digital exclusion in the peripheries. In the dimensions of utilization and stability, the chronic underfunding of social organizations (cozinhas solidárias) and the harmful political-administrative discontinuity stand out, treating food guidelines as policies of transitional governments rather than of the State. The research concludes that the consolidation of São Paulo as a genuine Smart and Sustainable City will only promote food justice if technological advancement overcomes mere digital determinism and is rigorously coupled with perennial structural policies, income transfer programs, macroeconomic incentives, and long-term collaborative governance.