“We are made of flour”: Food practices and meanings in Villa 21-24, City of Buenos Aires, in the context of COVID-19

Abstract

This article analyzes factors affecting food access and consumption on the part of domestic groups during COVID-19 lockdown in Villa 21-24 of the City of Buenos Aires during April and June 2020. In a context marked by high rates of poverty and malnutrition due to excess, it was possible to observe the influence of food environments with abundant ultra-processed and industrialized products, especially flour, through different access channels. The relationship between the role of women and intra-household food management shows that those who bear the burden of hunger are women. Food availability is assured without questioning its quality, but access to food depends on individual management, rendering them invisible as rights-bearing subjects, with a particular impact on children and adolescents.