Food sharing in a pandemic: Urban infrastructures, prefigurative practices and lessons for the future

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 raised critical questions about the functionalities of urban infrastructures, and in particular, practices of food provision, consumption and distribution. This paper focuses on the actions of non-commercial collaborative food sharing practices in Dublin city, incorporating surplus food redistribution initiatives, community kitchens, and community gardens, during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. Whilst initially curtailed under conditions of strict lockdowns, many of these food sharing initiatives became characterised as essential services as the crisis unfolded, offering infrastructures of mobility, accessibility and care. Focusing on urban food infrastructures, qualitative content analysis of online media debates around food sharing in Dublin during this period was conducted to explore how non-commercial food sharing initiatives have been affected by, and responded to, the COVID-19 outbreak in Dublin. The paper analyses forms of improvisation, institionalisation and impact that emerged through food sharing actions and reflects on whether food sharing initiatives prefigure more sustainable urban food systems.