A cidade e a fome: um estudo na Rua Ponto Chique 3, no Município de Delmiro Gouveia - AL

Abstract

Hunger is a subject widely debated in our society, being object of study of the Social Sciences in front of the importance for the population, because without food it is not possible to live, thus, besides a social problem, hunger is a biological issue. The causes of the lack of food for a population are varied and can be attributed to natural issues such as time and geographic conditions and from which human participation cannot always solve problems, as well as the situation of wars and poverty, where the influence of man is directly linked to the social inequalities that lead to deprivation of food for a population. In this way, the situation of poor communities must be carefully analyzed, as they suffer even more from the lack of food. It’s from the problem of hunger that arises this study, which sought to analyze the issues related to hunger in a poor community in the city of Delmiro Gouveia, located in the Sertão from Alagoas, Ponto Chique 3 St., as well as verify the habits of consumed of the population surveyed in order to identify the reality of a society of the locality. The research is based on the study of Josué de Castro (1984), present in the work Geography of Hunger, and which shows the panorama found by the author for the area of the Northeast, where the stage of this research is located. In addition, Milton Santos (2004, 2012) used the knowledge about the modifications of the urban space, in view of the economic development that modifies, including, the formation of society and generating, social inequalities to a population. As a result, the population of Ponto Chique 3 suffers from epidemic hunger, as described by Castro, because the residents suffer from constant deprivation of food in their homes. The food consumption profile of the residents of Ponto Chique 3 is based on carbohydrates, however lacking vitamins essential for development, especially among the young population. In summary, it was concluded that the main cause of hunger for the residents is due to the economic difficulties of the population surveyed and that they are unable to buy these important foods for the composition of the quality diet for a population.