This article is part of RioOnWatch’s special COP30 coverage of the peripheral communities of Belém, capital of the state of Pará, and local civil society movements confronting environmental racism, climate injustice and structural violence.
The Power of Community Kitchens and Family Farming
On the evenings of November 13 and 14, and on the afternoon of November 15, 2025, the Peace Chalet, the Tela Firme Collective and the Solidarity Kitchen of the COP30 People’s Summit distributed thousands of hot meals to residents of one of the largest baixadas (as their favelas are called) in Belém: the Terra Firme community. On all three occasions, the hot meals ran out in less than two hours. The action by social movements aimed to reach communities largely untouched by the activities of the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), offering care and easing food insecurity for people living just a few kilometers from the site where state delegations were gathered. “This is very serious,” described Fabrício Assunção de Souza, 24, born and raised in Terra Firme, a volunteer with the Peace Chalet and the Tela Firme Collective and a Physical Education student at Paulista University (UNIP) in Belém.
“We distributed [hot meals] at the Peace Chalet and at Abrigo, in the neighboring community of Guamá. It’s an occupation by families at a site where the state government was preparing housing but abandoned the construction. As a result, families without homes occupied the space… [And we also distributed meals at] the Santa Maria de Belém Parish, in Terra Firme, because we wanted to reach another group: elderly residents.” — Fabrício Assunção de Souza
Francisco Batista, 46, a graduate of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), is a geographer and education specialist and the founder of the Peace Chalet and the Tela Firme Collective. He detailed the communication process around the action and how it was coordinated:
“In total, 2,200 [hot meals] were distributed at the Abrigo Housing Complex, in Liberdade II, at the far south end of the neighborhood, as well as at the Peace Chalet and the Santa Maria de Belém Parish. I was contacted by our partner from the state-level Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), one of the coordinators of the community kitchen that fed participants at the People’s Summit. She contacted me to see if it would be possible to bring [meals] here. I reached out to the neighbors through our WhatsApp group… we got in touch with leaders in Liberdade II and went to deliver meal packs to Abrigo… Here in Terra Firme alone [this action distributed]… 600, 1,000 and 800 between the Chalet and the Santa Maria de Belém Parish.” — Francisco Batista
This situation illustrates the importance of community kitchens in the favelas of Belém and the strength of grassroots community communication, where word of mouth can guarantee food on the plate of a neighbor who might otherwise not have eaten that night.
RioOnWatch was present at the meal distribution on November 14. Batista, who knows the community’s residents well and is himself from there, and understands the size of many families, sometimes encouraged residents to take two, three or even five meals. The action reached at least 1,000 residents of Terra Firme.
Jose Aragão*, one of the volunteers helping distribute the meals, offered a perceptive analysis of the situation: “It would be ideal for the residents of Terra Firme to be present at the People’s Summit, there at COP30, but [few] are, right? So, the social movement has to come to the worker.”
All the meals were prepared by volunteers from the People’s Summit Solidarity Kitchen, at UFPA.
Some residents were noticeably embarrassed and reluctant to approach the distribution point to get meals for themselves and their families. Understanding their hesitation, the local leaders made a point of minimizing any type of awkwardness.
“We’ve been doing the Christmas of Peace [distribution] since 2015… [So] we already had a relationship with the community… When the pandemic hit, Tela Firme launched a campaign in March to support the population and collect food called Solidarity Terra, with support from churches, terreiros, cultural facilities, etc… This gave us a certain expertise in carrying out actions like the one we did this week.” — Francisco Batista
Police Violence Occurs Even in This Context: ‘You Know How It Is in the Periphery’
On the evening of November 13, during the distribution of packed meals, those present were shocked to witness the Military Police of Pará harassing a young boy, a minor, even leaving cigarette burn marks on his body. The boy was later released, as they found nothing illegal in his possession.
Then, on the next evening, November 14, the police arrived about halfway through the distribution, driving a patrol car at high speed in an irresponsible manner on a narrow dirt street crowded with pedestrians and cyclists of all ages.
The RioOnWatch team witnessed the military police get out of their patrol car, already pointing their rifles at a middle-aged man riding his bicycle. After a long time of violent searching and shouted humiliations for everyone to hear, the officers released him, as he wasn’t carrying anything illegal. According to his testimonial shortly afterward, his allegedly suspicious behavior “[was]… being a resident of a baixada and in my own territory, in my home where I was born, riding a bicycle on a Friday night.”
While they searched and humiliated the man, one of the police officers took two meal packs from him. In a very loud voice, he walked confrontationally toward the meal distribution point, shouting and acting disrespectfully.
After releasing the man, the police, rifles raised and maintaining the same violent attitude, entered an alley next to where the meals were being distributed. There, they found a young man and, while violently searching him, began to beat him. Other residents who witnessed this were outraged by the gratuitous violence but could not intervene, fearing reprisals.
“They’re beating the hell out of Joaquim*… I was very worried, because he was here just now [at the distribution point, getting food] and I was right next to him.” — João Almeida*
After all the meal packs had been removed from the truck, the vehicle carrying the People’s Summit activists tried to leave. However, the Pará Military Police patrol car was blocking the way. The driver had to wait for the police to stop their abusive actions and clear the public road, which they had obstructed for no reason.
After some time, the officers got into the patrol car, backed up, and stopped in front of the meal pack distribution point. They stared slowly and intensely at each of those present, in a threatening manner, without getting out of the car. Then they maneuvered and, shortly afterward, crossed the bridge over the stream and headed into another area of the community.
Despite the blatant police violence, the meal pack distribution went on as if the Pará Military Police had never been there. Even amid all this violence and adversity, the Terra Firme collectives, together with the COP30 People’s Summit, managed to put food on the plates of the community members.
Check out the Photo Album of the Hot Meal Distribution by the COP30 People’s Summit Solidarity Kitchen:
*Some of the interviewees were given fictitious names to protect them.
About the author: Julio Santos Filho has a Bachelor’s in International Relations (UFF) and a Master’s in Sociology (IESP-UERJ). A Black man from Ilha do Governador, he has worked as editor of RioOnWatch since 2020. In 2021, he edited the series “Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas,” a silver medalist in The Anthem Awards.