Governance of family food security and sustainable planning. The case of the municipality of Santiago de Cuba

Abstract

Governance is a process that enables communication and cooperation between the government, other public institutions, social organizations, and families. In Cuba, the recent approval in 2020 of the Food Sovereignty and Nutrition Education Plan implies strengthening governance as a catalyst for family food security (SAF). However, incorporating sustainable planning to promote food security from dimensions that describe eating practices in Cuban homes still needs to be improved. This research aims to assess the links between governance and sustainable planning, to strengthen the dimensions of access, use, social capital, and cultural food capital, among others (SAF) in the Santiago de Cuba municipality. For this, the interview and survey methods are used. The first, to 20 families in a situation of social food vulnerability, and the second, to a sample of 300 households whose coexistence is not marked exclusively by the exposure mentioned earlier. The results point to poor communication among the social actors, generating food-destructuring practices. It is also visible the scarce insertion of these dimensions in planning to achieve greater family food sustainability. It is concluded that to achieve SAF, it is necessary to strengthen the interconnection of governance and sustainable planning from a relational perspective of the food field.