PERCEPÇÃO DAS MERENDEIRAS DE CARAPICUÍBA - SÃO PAULO, BRASIL, SOBRE ASPECTOS DA SUA ATUAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL

Abstract

Introduction: The promotion of adequate food in the school environment has as its fundamental character the school cooks, considered health agents at school, who tend to pass on their eating habits to students. Goal: Analyze the perception of school cooks about healthy eating and aspects of their professional performance. Method: Cross-sectional, qualitative study, developed with school cooks from the municipal schools of Carapicuíba. The individual semi-structured interview technique and thematic content analysis applied to the transcripts were used to critically understand the subject. Results: The average age of the 32 interviewed school cooks was 53.03 years; classified in obesity; the majority living with a partner and belonging to socioeconomic class C. Eight themes emerged from the interviews were identified: Food at home versus food at school; Change the menu; Exchanges of culinary experiences; Healthy eating; School feeding; Food and student health; Role of the school cooks and; Food and nutritional insecurity. Conclusions: The perceptions about healthy eating point to a knowledge of the concept of the term, but the other notes demonstrate difficulty in applying the concept in practice. The conceptions about the different aspects of its performance go back to the importance of its role in school feeding, manifested in each theme found.