Abstract
Food security, or access to nutritious and sufficient food for all, is one of the main governance challenges in the XXI century. Access to food is a human right and the lack of it impacts significantly on physical and mental health. In informal settlements, these challenges become more relevant for two reasons. First, for communities living in contexts of deprivation accessing decent food can be challenging due to the lack of economic resources or limited offer of healthy products. Second, because in these contexts food governance is multilevel and depends on the State, the private market, and local organizations. These actors interact with each other, but each of them has its own dynamics, criteria, and objectives. Food assistance policies are generally non-comprehensive and non-articulated, and policymakers tend to make assumptions that challenge the effects of the programs in place. To investigate this topic, a case in Buenos Aires, Argentina was selected. Villa 20 is a 30,000-people neighborhood undergoing an upgrading project. At least 50% of its families are poor, and more than 60% received food assistance in 2020. Observations, documents revision, and interviews to stakeholders such as government officials were conducted to understand 1. the relationship between policymakers and other actors, and 2. the goals and criteria of government programs to ensure food security and how these impact on the reality of households. Findings from this study suggest that polycentric governance of food in settlements facilitates its distribution, but that the lack of articulation limits the effectiveness of government programs.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
FOOD GOVERNANCE, LATIN AMERICA, INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD POLICY
