Food Diaries During Covid-19 Lockdown

Studies documented the erosion of the country’s food systems during the onset of COVID-19, while at household level the lower-class Filipinos’ pandemic-impacted food system was only examined in terms of nutritional quality. The study zooms in on how aid-dependent household food systems are functioning in the lifeworld of poor households. Using the diary method, we collected the lockdown experiences of ten women from two resettlement communities in managing the food system. The household food system in both communities has to cope with the pandemic uncertainties and at the same time is shaped by aid through food and cash assistance. The value of aid for the households goes beyond its food security objective; it also contributes to main­taining the women’s psychological well-being and strengthening their spirituality during the crisis. Nevertheless, government’s social targeting of aid could be improved and food and nutrition security interventions could be more professionally dealt with.