Food as affection, comfort and refuge: understanding the act of eating in pandemic times

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to reflect on the meanings of food and its functions in a context of social distance. Our empirical reference is the middle classes of large Brazilian cities, especially in Rio de Janeiro, which, with social distance and quarantine, people started to cook at home much more than usual, establishing a new standard for their meals. On the other hand, mainly for economic reasons, many people begin to find it difficult to maintain their daily diet, resulting in food insecurity. The methodology used was documentary research in the media, supported by a bibliographic review and complemented by a research using WhatsApp application. The essay is divided into three parts: first we contextualize the problem, after that we present the theoretical framework then we present examples and testimonies that allow us to draw a panorama of this new context of food in times of Covid-19 pandemic. We conclude that, in this new context, people are more focused on comfort food, and that food preparation remains a predominantly feminine task, even in cases where men are at home.