Over the past ten years, eating out has become an increasingly expensive option for Brazilians, causing great inconvenience for workers who spend the day away from their residences.
According to a survey carried out by Ticket, the famous meal voucher and food brand from Edenred Brasil, the average amount paid by workers for lunch increased by an average of 70% during this period.
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This trend is worrying, as it directly impacts the worker's pocket, who starts to commit a significant part of their monthly income to food, leaving other important expenses aside.
According to research carried out by Ticket, the average price of a complete meal, including main dish, dessert, drink and coffee, sold in Brazilian restaurants is R$46.60.
This amount represents an increase of 70% compared to the R$27.36 charged in 2014. This increasing trend affects all regions of the country, however, the Southeast stands out with the biggest increase, followed by the South, Northeast, North and Central-West regions.
Still according to the research, while the inflation accumulated over the last ten years was 68.2%, the average increase in the price of a meal in the Central-West was 60.0%, in the Southeast it was 77.7% and in the South Region it was 66.5%.
With rising prices for eating out, food stamps have become an essential benefit for many workers. However, according to Ticket, the average food stamp balance lasts for around 12 of the 22 working days of the month.
This means that the worker needs to supplement the amount with their own resources or reduce their frequency of eating out. Considering the average value of a complete meal of R$46.60, the ideal value of the benefit to guarantee adequate nutrition throughout the month would be R$1,025.20.
However, the average monthly income of Brazilians, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), is R$2,921. Thus, eating a full meal daily would represent a consumption of 35% of income.
Ticket's research also points out the ideal value of meal ticket for each region of Brazil, considering two scenarios: a complete meal and a minimum meal, consisting of a commercial dish and drink.
In the first scenario, the ideal value of meal vouchers in the Southeast Region is R$1,085.26, followed by the Northeast with R$958.10 and the South with R$941.82. The Central-West region has the lowest ideal value, just R$918.50.
In the second scenario, considering a minimum meal, the ideal value for the meal voucher would be lower in the Central-West Region, at R$559.46. Northeast and Southeast are the regions with the highest suggested benefit value, of R$665.06 and R$663.08, respectively.