The coloquium Acesso a uma Alimentação Adequada em Portugal: Desafios e Soluções [Access to Adequate Food in Portugal: Challenges and Solutions] will take place at the Auditorium of the Institute of Social Security in Lisbon on October 16. The event will provide the context for an exploration of how recent crises have reshaped eating habits in Portugal, based on the findings of the research project FoodHabCrisis, coordinated at ICS-ULisboa by researcher Vasco Ramos. 

The research consisted of a survey on eating practices carried out with a representative sample of the Portuguese population between September and November 2024. The results show a reality in flux due to the cost-of-living crisis: people living in Portugal are increasingly adopting saving strategies such as opting for supermarket brands, seeking the best prices across different retail outlets, and cutting other expenses in order to afford the cost of food. Meanwhile, visits to restaurants and friends’ homes are also becoming less frequent - nstead, home-cooked meals have made a come back, with smaller portions, the substitution of ingredients with more affordable alternatives, and a more careful use of leftovers.

However, not everyone is affected by the rising cost of living in the same way - the impact of rising costs varies depending on household structure, social class, and economic and cultural resources, thereby increasing inequalities in access to food in a country in crisis.

The full report, authored by Vasco Ramos, Francielli Dalprá, Mónica Truninger, and Rita Gouveia, davailable for download. The event is organized by ICS-ULisboa and the European Anti-Poverty Network, the largest European network active in the fight against poverty. See the full program at this link.