Gestão de custos de matéria-prima em unidades de alimentação e nutrição: diagnóstico e intervenção em unidade da economia solidária

Abstract

The Food and Nutrition Unit (UAN) is an integrated set of work areas that aims to operationalize the nutritional provision of specific communities. It consists of an organized service, encompassing a series of actions designed to provide adjusted meals compatible with dietary and hygienic standards, with a view to meeting the nutritional needs of its customers, in a way that fits within the financial limits stipulated by the Institution (ABREU et al., 2009). The general objective of this study is to evaluate the management of raw material costs of a commercial restaurant of the Solidarity Economy in the city of Cruz das Almas, Bahia. The study was carried out in the city of Cruz das Almas, Bahia, and covered the period from May 2011 to December 2012, as part of the Awareness Project of the Grupo de Mulheres da Economia Solidária de Bom Gosto, which is responsible for providing meals and snacks for the canteens of the Center of Agrarian, Environmental and Biological Sciences of the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia, being assisted by INCUBA. From the general framework envisioned at the UAN, it was noted that the preparation of the Unit's per capita prices and the implementation of the computerized instrument enabled the standardization of portioning and the prior planning of the menus offered, which allowed the opening of a range of possibilities for the Unit, considering the verification of the cost of each preparation, the cost of the daily menu and a menu planning, based on a sales forecast, according to the reality of the location, thus avoiding shortages or surpluses of food. It is expected that the new instrument, currently being created, will enable future advances that contribute to improving the cost management system in small production units, such as the insertion of new technologies appropriate for this work sector.