Families’ food provisioning strategies among households headed by working mothers in Santiago of Chile Estrategias familiares de provisión de alimentos en hogares de mujeres-madres trabajadoras de la ciudad de Santiago de Chile

Abstract

Our objective was to explore families’ food provisioning strategies among households headed by working mothers in Santiago of Chile, through qualitative and ethnographical methods. We used in-depth individual interviews (20), observations of provisioning practices (17) and participant observation (3) in houses and market places, carried out over a period of two weeks. Food provisioning was an activity mainly performed by the mother, and it was strongly shaped by the type of employment and the socioeconomic level of the family. Women of disadvantaged socioeconomic groups and employed in more flexible jobs-in terms of time and income-, engaged in more flexible provisioning practices, prioritizing non-perishable products-what informants call ‘mercaderia’-over perishable foods such as fruits, vegetables and meats, which were of secondary relevance. Women of higher socioeconomic groups and employed in more formal and stable jobs, showed greater routine in their provisioning strategies, which included both, ‘mercadería’ and perishable foods.