[Cost-effectiveness of school snacks and meals in a municipality in southern Brazil]

Considering the importance of the effective execution of the Brazilian National School Feeding Program in promoting food and nutritional security among Brazilian children, this study proposes an economic assessment of the school meal menu in a municipality in southern Brazil. The cost-effectiveness ratio was used to relate the monetary cost of meals to the nutritional benefits, which were estimated using the Meal Quality Index. The Mann-Whitney test and Spearman's correlation coefficient (p-value = 0.05) were used for the statistical analysis. The menu consisted of 191 days of meals, including 95 snacks and 96 meals. Snacks (median = 0.11 [P25 = 0.09; P75 = 0.12]) were significantly more cost-effective compared to meals (median = 0.08 [P25 = 0.06; P75 = 0.10]), which constitutes an advantage in choosing meals over snacks, using the cost and nutritional quality relationship as a strictly objective criterion. The application of the cost-effectiveness ratio as a decision-making tool for menu management in the school meal program was positive, as it enables classifying the food offered in an analysis that combines economy and health.