Eating in Covid-19 times: a resident's experience in a needy community

Abstract

This work deals with a narrative analysis about eating in a needy community from a remaining quilombola territory and the understanding-hermeneutic relationships established in that space simultaneously with the advent of the pandemic by Covid-19. Virtual shared narratives by a member of the Quilombo do Orobu, located in the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, were analyzed using interpretative methodology with contributions from the writings by Gadamer. Those referred to the historical-social meanings for the interpretation of eating, hunger, the world of work, belonging and physical distance as a measure to prevent the new coronavirus in a culturally crowded community. The main contribution of the interpretation of this narrative experience arises from the perception of residents of the community regarding the absence of active listening by the public authorities, ancestral food belonging and the apparently antagonistic understanding of socio-interactive isolation of residents to face Covid-19. For a post-pandemic moment, came up the interpretation of the need for discussions on the minimum infant income related to school feeding for low-income children as a measure to protect Food and Nutrition Security in the community.