Paper short abstract:

In Latin America, agroecological alternatives have contributed to a solidaristic infrastructure. When the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted short supply chains, solidaristic adaptations helped continue and even expand them, while also accommodating anti-virus hygiene measures.

Paper long abstract:

In Latin America, agroecological alternatives have arisen from small-scale producers resisting capital-intensive neocolonial Northern models and their globalised markets. Developing a solidarity economy, these alternatives bring producers socially closer to consumers by various means such as farmers’ markets, weekly box schemes, Community Supported Agriculture and public procurement. Through their diálogo de saberes (knowledge-exchange), practitioners exchange their experiences with each other and with external experts including academic researchers. All these practices contribute to a solidaristic infrastructure for socio-economic justice.

Within those agendas, innovation is often called ‘social technology’, understood as technology-in-use, i.e. adaptable and adapted by specific actors for their solidaristic aims and contexts. By definition ‘social technology’ has a low-cost design using local capacities and materials, thus easily reproducible. Such agri-food innovations have encompassed the following: non-conventional food plants (PANCS), agrooecological agroforestry, rainwater-fed cisterns for irrigation; and digital platforms for ordering food baskets.

When the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted circuitos cortos, solidaristic adaptations helped continue them, while also accommodating anti-virus hygiene measures. Many initiatives began or extended digital platforms for food orders, especially cell-phone apps, thereby reaching more consumers than before. These efforts depended upon wider solidaristic expertise and networks –for designing the innovation, as well as for educating consumers about the many societal benefits of agroecological production. More recently, this solidaristic infrastructure has been conceptualised as socio-environmental and socio-territorial technologies, which help link nearby initiatives into a stronger territorial force. These networks have jointly asked public authorities for support measures that could strengthen their collective capacities for circuitos cortos.

Paper short abstract:

This paper is focused on agri-food organisations in the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE). It examines how they responded to the Covid-19 crisis, drawing on the cases of Brazil and Turkey.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines agri-food organisations in the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE), especially how they responded to the Covid-19 crisis. For a long time, beforehand, they developed short supply chains for their agroecological products, bringing producers socially closer to consumers, while avoiding profit-driven middlemen. Such arrangements have been guided by social values of economic equity and democratic self-management. These organisations – including cooperatives or social enterprises, their networks, and supportive institutions – together comprise solidaristic ecosystems. By critically reviewing the literature, and then comparing Brazil with Turkey, the paper shows how agri-food SSE ecosystems have mobilised inclusive innovation through agile adaptations and resilient processes, thus fulfilling the urgent needs of members and their communities in rapidly changing socio-economic environments. They have extended such dynamic capabilities and infrastructures for creative, socially equitable means to recover from the Covid-19 crisis, thus enabling members and their families to maintain their livelihoods. Alongside collective capacities embedded in prior routines, solidaristic relationships enable both agile adaptations and a transformative resilience that bounces forwards.

Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the recolonizing effects of Latin American food infrastructure as the source of the current complexities of food sovereignty discourse in San José, Costa Rica, specifically through the brand monopolies of gastronomic patrimonies and transnational companies’ infrastructures.

Paper long abstract:

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the plundering of the biological wealth of Latin American biodiverse countries has caused a domino effect of destructive free-trade agreements, productive and market labor fragmentation of sustainable food infrastructures by transnational companies, and public policies thwarted by foreign economic interests. COVID-19 was a time of local reflection and union, in which the limelight was shined on Latin American alternative food networks, agricultural associations, and academic nuclei as they came together to adapt to new conditions and create new spaces in the market. Through this introspection, a post COVID-19 discourse looks very different due to the increased visibility of trade regulation and virtual activism. In the capital of Costa Rica, San José, COVID-19 yielded perspectives that promoted interdisciplinary collaboration towards anti-gentrification, denouncements in the press, and synergies with climate activism—as boundary objects of a larger food infrastructure transition. This paper will contexualize how intellectual properties shaped current Costa Rican food infrastructures, and explore the post COVID-19 food sovereignty climate of San José, including the criticisms, reactions, and activism of the brand monopolies of gastronomic patrimonies and transnational companies’ use of agrotoxins.

Paper short abstract:

This research presents the first ever national-level quantification of the contribution of community kitchens at a national scale in any country, covering more than 2,000 cases during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Chile.

Paper long abstract:

Food insecurity was one of the multiple crises that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, and keeps re-emerging for years as a result of food price inflation. Community kitchens (CKs), food banks, and other similar initiatives, significantly contributed to tackle food insecurity in places as diverse as Colombia (Ortiz and Millan, 2022), Chile (Daniels et al., 2021), South Africa (Paganini et al., 2021), India (Rashmi and Lekshmi, 2021) and Australia (McShane and Coffey, 2022). Multiple studies were carried out to understand the processes and stories behind CKs, which are discussed as grassroots care devices: tools to sustain the basic reproductive conditions of existence. The association of CKs with care during the COVID-19 pandemic is reinforced by multiple accounts of women leading, operating and sustaining CKs. The spread of these sorts of efforts during the pandemic is an example of people as infrastructure (Simone, 2004), in this case care infrastructure (Van Houtven et al., 2010). Qualitative in-depth research and small surveys have explained the nutritional contribution of CKs and the kind of people behind them. However, given its logics outside the state and the market, it is extremely difficult to quantify the scope of CKs at a city, regional or national scale. Aiming to generate both empirical and theoretical contributions to the understanding of community-based care infrastructure in times of crisis, this research presents the first ever national-level dataset with more than 2,000 CKs that existed during 2020 in Chile.

Paper short abstract:

The study explores a methodology of analysing urban resilience food in cities of the Global South

Paper long abstract:

Spatial distribution of access to fresh and healthy food in cities of the Global South and its resilience during times of crisis is a topic that has been little explored hitherto..

In Chile, the current food system that mainly supplies cities is composed by street markets ("ferias libres") and supermarkets, which have different spatial expressions and are targeted at different population segments. Street markets supply 70% of the fruit and vegetables consumed in intermediate cities but have an ephemeral nature due to their weekly periodicity. Supermarkets are permanent and provide a wide variety of products, attracting people to make a single purchase at a higher cost.

This study analyzes the accessibility patterns of the two food systems and their resilience in COVID-19 and proposes guidelines for urban food policy that focuses not only on a 15-minute city but on a resilient city from a food perspective.

The Metropolitan Area of Concepción and the La Serena - Coquimbo Conurbation are taken as case studies, mapping street markets and supermarkets along with their service areas. Distance analyses at block level are conducted to establish accessibility gradients to healthy food under normal and pandemic situations.

The results indicate that food resilience has a spatial expression directly related to socioeconomic differences, identifying urban areas that not only have low accessibility to fresh food sources but are also highly dependent on the temporality of street markets, reducing their food resilience. Due to their socioeconomic conditions, these areas increase their vulnerability in a health emergency situation.

Paper short abstract:

The paper critically examines food policies during COVID-19 in India, emphasising the differential impact on vulnerable groups and advocating for multi-disciplinary perspectives that prioritise social justice in crafting comprehensive solutions for sustainable and equitable food systems.

Paper long abstract:

This paper conducts a comprehensive examination of urban food infrastructure in India following the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on its nuanced impact on vulnerable groups. It advocates for multi-disciplinary perspectives, highlighting the roles of the State, grassroots initiatives, and the market, while emphasizing socio-spatial patterns. The analysis underscores the vital connection between urban food infrastructure, social justice, and sustainable systems. Additionally, the paper calls for leveraging local and indigenous knowledge to enhance the food system's resilience, citing successful examples within indigenous communities. It stresses the importance of developing a local food economy rooted in specific places, economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and socially equitable. The study critically evaluates policy responses at both state and central levels, revealing gaps that require attention for building a resilient food system. Policy recommendations focus on addressing structural barriers hindering inclusive participation, acknowledging socio-cultural realities, and preventing corruption in implementation. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity of prioritizing a comprehensive analysis of inequalities, advocating for resilient food systems that ensure accessible and nutritious food for diverse segments in India, particularly during times of crisis.

Keywords: Urban Food Infrastructure, COVID-19, Vulnerable Groups, Social Justice, Sustainable Systems, Local Food Economy, Resilient Food System, Policy Analysis, Inclusive Participation, Inequalities.