Layers of Inequalities: Accessing Nutrient-Dense Foods (NDFS) in the Rural Food Environment

Shriya Bajaj, The University Of Sheffield

This study presents a conceptual framework for understanding access to nutrient-dense foods (NDFs) in rural India, emphasizing the role of intersecting inequalities related to caste, gender, and geographical remoteness. Utilizing Amartya Sen's capability approach, the framework explores how structural inequalities impact food access at both household and market levels. It highlights how caste-based discrimination and intra-household gender dynamics limit access to NDFs, with lower-caste individuals and women facing barriers both in markets and within their homes. Additionally, geographical isolation exacerbates these challenges by restricting market access due to poor infrastructure and transportation issues. The proposed framework integrates these intersecting factors to provide a comprehensive analysis of how social and physical barriers shape food access. This research aims to reveal how social and geographical inequalities shape access to nutritious foods, particularly amongst the most socially disadvantaged, in order to better align food system policies with SDG commitments to ‘leave no one behind’.

Keywords: Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Gender Dynamics, Mixed methods research

See extended abstract.