Multidimensional Resilience in Food Practices: Exploring Family Dynamics and Structural Challenges in Latvian Households

Research investigates the resilience of family food practices within Latvian households, examining how different familial configurations—ranging from single-parent, two-parent, to extended family structures—navigate complex socio-economic, ecological, and psychological pressures in their pursuit of sustainable dietary habits. Utilizing qualitative research methods, the study engages a diverse sample of households from both rural and urban regions of Latvia, exploring the adaptive strategies these families employ to sustain healthy and stable food consumption amidst dynamic and often precarious socio-economic conditions.

Drawing on the concept of resilience, rooted in ecological sciences, the study extends this framework to examine how families cope with disturbances such as economic instability, food price volatility, and shifting cultural expectations surrounding diet and nutrition. By approaching resilience as a multidimensional phenomenon, the research delves into the interconnected factors influencing resilience at both collective and individual levels. Special attention is given to how family dynamics, including intra-household relationships and resource allocation, shape and enable adaptive responses to systemic pressures, with particular focus on how these strategies are stratified.

The study critically engages with the concept of "resilience thinking," interrogating its analytical utility and inherent limitations in capturing the complex, nuanced ways families adapt and transform in response to systemic socio-economic pressures. By positioning family food practices as a locus of both vulnerability and adaptability, this study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of resilience as an active, dynamic process, rather than a mere reactive capacity. It underscores the importance of proactive adaptation, negotiation, and resourcefulness within the face of structural challenges. The findings offer significant insights into the lived experiences of Latvian families, demonstrating that resilience is a deeply contextual process, co-produced by interactions between individual agency, social relationships, and broader structural forces.