IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v10y2021i10p352-d641218.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food Itineraries in the Context of Crisis in Catalonia (Spain): Intersections between Precarization, Food Insecurity and Gender

Author

Listed:
  • Mabel Gracia-Arnaiz

    (Departament Antropologia, Filosofia i Treball Social, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43002 Tarragona, Spain)

  • Montserrat Garcia-Oliva

    (Pere Tarrés Faculty of Social Education and Social Work, Universitat Ramon Llull, 08022 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Mireia Campanera

    (Departament Antropologia, Filosofia i Treball Social, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43002 Tarragona, Spain)

Abstract

This work analyzes the relationship between the precarization of everyday life and the increase in food insecurity in Catalonia (Spain). Based on an ethnographic analysis of the food itineraries of a group of people in a situation of precarity, this article examines their lived experiences under the pressure of having to meet daily food needs. The results show that gender differences are significant in terms of the strategies adopted, particularly in the forms of acquisition and preparation, places of consumption and support networks. Given that women are largely responsible for feeding the household, they are the ones most often managing the attendant difficulties. In situations where access to food depends on diverse and irregular sources, they engage in practices that both protect the family group’s basic need to eat and sometimes compromise their own health, eating less than is usual and/or sufficient, skipping meals or even, on occasion, going hungry. The study concludes that providing food involves a crucial set of knowledge and skills for social reproduction that is not incorporated into existing emergency programs, with specific actions to avoid gender inequality likewise being omitted. The article proposes that both issues be discussed and taken into account in health and social policy. This study analyzes a subject that has scarcely been addressed in Spain. The challenge in investigating food insecurity from a gender approach is not only to make visible the crucial roles of women in food security and their contribution to it but also to show how the process of precarization manifests itself unequally across households.

Suggested Citation

  • Mabel Gracia-Arnaiz & Montserrat Garcia-Oliva & Mireia Campanera, 2021. "Food Itineraries in the Context of Crisis in Catalonia (Spain): Intersections between Precarization, Food Insecurity and Gender," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:10:y:2021:i:10:p:352-:d:641218
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/10/352/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/10/352/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gracia-Arnaiz, Mabel, 2017. "Taking measures in times of crisis: The political economy of obesity prevention in Spain," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 65-76.
    2. Martin, Molly A. & Lippert, Adam M., 2012. "Feeding her children, but risking her health: The intersection of gender, household food insecurity and obesity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(11), pages 1754-1764.
    3. Broussard, Nzinga H., 2019. "What explains gender differences in food insecurity?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 180-194.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sameen Zafar & Mashal E. Zehra, 2025. "Rethinking the postmodern approach to food insecurity in crises: evidence from Pakistan," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 3661-3682, August.
    2. Hanna Dudek & Joanna Myszkowska-Ryciak & Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska, 2021. "Profiles of Food Insecurity: Similarities and Differences across Selected CEE Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Lee, Chioun & Ryff, Carol D., 2016. "Early parenthood as a link between childhood disadvantage and adult heart problems: A gender-based approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 58-66.
    4. Molly A. Martin & Margaret Gough Courtney & Adam M. Lippert, 2022. "The Risks and Consequences of Skipping Meals for Low-Income Mothers," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(6), pages 2613-2644, December.
    5. Komlan Kota & Marie-Hélène Chomienne & Sanni Yaya, 2023. "Examining the disparities: A cross-sectional study of socio-economic factors and food insecurity in Togo," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(11), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Alexis Millerschultz & Lawton Lanier Nalley & Brandon McFadden & Rodolfo Nayga & Wei Yang, 2025. "Required informational barriers to accessing groceries from food banks," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 17(1), pages 9-25, February.
    7. Patenaude, Bryan N. & Chimbindi, Natsayi & Pillay, Deenan & Bärnighausen, Till, 2018. "The impact of ART initiation on household food security over time," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 175-184.
    8. Nithya Shankar-Krishnan & Albert Fornieles Deu & David Sánchez-Carracedo, 2021. "Associations Between Food Insecurity And Psychological Wellbeing, Body Image, Disordered Eating And Dietary Habits: Evidence From Spanish Adolescents," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(1), pages 163-183, February.
    9. Hazrana, Jaweriah & Birthal, Pratap S. & Mishra, Ashok K., 2025. "Equal exposure, unequal effects of climate change: Gendered impacts on food consumption and nutrition in rural Bangladesh," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    10. Vicka Kharisma & Naoya Abe, 2020. "Food Insecurity and Associated Socioeconomic Factors: Application of Rasch and Binary Logistic Models with Household Survey Data in Three Megacities in Indonesia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 655-679, April.
    11. Esther O. Lamidi, 2019. "Household composition and experiences of food insecurity in Nigeria: the role of social capital, education, and time use," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(1), pages 201-218, February.
    12. Elena Carrillo-Álvarez & Blanca Salinas-Roca & Lluís Costa-Tutusaus & Raimon Milà-Villarroel & Nithya Shankar Krishnan, 2021. "The Measurement of Food Insecurity in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-57, September.
    13. Chukwuemeka E. Ogbu & Chisa O. Oparanma & Stella C. Ogbu & Otobo I. Ujah & Ndugba S. Chinenye & Chidera P. Ogbu & Russell S. Kirby, 2023. "Neighborhood Unsafety, Discrimination, and Food Insecurity among Nigerians Aged 15–49," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(17), pages 1-14, August.
    14. Yeyoung Lee & Beliyou Haile & Greg Seymour & Carlo Azzarri, 2021. "The heat never bothered me anyway: Gender‐specific response of agricultural labor to climatic shocks in Tanzania," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(2), pages 732-749, June.
    15. Hanna Dudek & Joanna Myszkowska-Ryciak, 2020. "The Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Correlates of Food Insecurity in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-16, August.
    16. Pedro Gerber Machado & Julia Tomei & Adam Hawkes & Celma de Oliveira Ribeiro, 2020. "A Simulator to Determine the Evolution of Disparities in Food Consumption between Socio-Economic Groups: A Brazilian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-24, July.
    17. Kwabena Nyarko Addai & John N. Ng’ombe & Omphile Temoso, 2022. "Food Poverty, Vulnerability, and Food Consumption Inequality Among Smallholder Households in Ghana: A Gender-Based Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 661-689, September.
    18. Muhammad Sohail Amjad Makhdum & Rakhshanda Kousar, 2021. "Gender in agriculture: Determinants of female labor supply decisions among rural households in the context of market imperfections in Pakistan," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(2), pages 235-248, March.
    19. Siluleko Mkhize & Elena Libhaber & Ronel Sewpaul & Priscilla Reddy & Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven, 2022. "Child and adolescent food insecurity in South Africa: A household-level analysis of hunger," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(12), pages 1-19, December.
    20. Kristen Cooksey Stowers & Nana Yaa A Marfo & Eminet Abebe Gurganus & Kim M Gans & Shiriki K Kumanyika & Marlene B Schwartz, 2020. "The hunger-obesity paradox: Exploring food banking system characteristics and obesity inequities among food-insecure pantry clients," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-20, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:10:y:2021:i:10:p:352-:d:641218. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.