From charity to justice? A comparative analysis of conventional food aid and agroecology-oriented food redistribution initiatives

Abstract

The social justice dimension of agroecological transitions is often overlooked, with related initiatives criticised for excluding socially marginalised groups. Agroecology-oriented Food Redistribution Initiatives (AFRIs) emerged during COVID-19 to address the heightened food insecurity levels, linking agroecology with food justice struggles. Drawing on interviews and fieldwork conducted in two AFRIs and several Conventional Food Security Organisations (CFSOs) of Barcelona and Sevilla, Spain, this research highlights their different implications and performances for distributive and procedural justice as well as environmental sustainability. The study shows that CFSOs blend traditional and innovative food redistribution practices, increasingly recognising both the right to food and the structural causes of food insecurity. AFRIs adopt more critical discourses and practices, challenging inequities in access to healthy food and advocating for structural transformations across all levels of the food system. Furthermore, AFRIs prioritise agroecology and local economies over just reducing food waste, as CFSOs commonly do, and they involve marginalised individuals in decisions and activities to promote community empowerment and procedural justice. Although AFRIs may be temporary and reach fewer people than CFSOs, their prefigurative practices can inspire a transition towards more sustainable and just food aid, while also advancing social justice goals within agroecology.