Food poverty in Tuscany: local public policies and (good) practices

Abstract

Despite the reduction of hunger on an international scale, particularly in areas traditionally characterized by malnutrition, recent years have seen an increase in problems relating to food access precisely in those countries which considered themselves immune from such problems. This paper presents reflections on the theme of poverty and malnutrition based on studies conducted in Tuscany. The principal theoretical and historical aspects that characterize this phenomenon are analysed in the first section. In the second section, we discuss the instruments put in place to combat poverty and malnutrition on the national and local levels in Italy, highlighting their strong and weak points. The life-stories of 43 people subject to malnutrition and who benefit from anti-poverty measures in Tuscany are analysed in the third section. The final section is dedicated to a critical interpretation of measures set up to combat poverty in Tuscany, and of the system of production and distribution of food among the most disadvantaged social classes.