Food practices adaptation: Exploring the coping strategies of low-socioeconomic status families in times of disruption

COVID-19 impact on global and national food systems, along with associated physical restrictions, lockdowns, and school closures, have led to dramatic changes in families' everyday lives, including food practices, with a potentially detrimental impact on their health and wellbeing. Our research explored adaptation in consumers’ food practices during the COVID-19 lockdowns. This study explores the disruptions and changes of food practices in response to COVID-19-associated restrictions. We recruited 18 low socio-economic status families with primary school children across the United Kingdom and New Zealand to partake in two interviews, a survey, and the use of an ethnographic app. The study identified the coping mechanisms that families employed to deal with disrupted food practices during the pandemic. With the additional pressure on individuals’ physical and mental health, the essentiality of maintaining a balanced diet has been a struggle for families with young children. Participants’ coping mechanisms led to food practices adaptations and adoption of new practices that involved bulk buying, batch cooking, freezing meals for the week ahead, and stockpiling on non-perishable goods. Families became better at planning their food shopping and spending more time in the kitchen, preparing meals from scratch. Participants reported cooking from raw ingredients to save money while also turning to comfort food during the lockdown as an emotional coping mechanism, which increased their junk food and fat intake. The findings have practical implications for policy makers and non-governmental organisations aiding families to cope with the difficulties and aftermath of sudden and large-scale disruption such as a pandemic.