Different representations of the ‘countryside’ coexist in contemporary Portugal, from idyllic depictions to portrayals of emptiness and loneliness. Rural contexts close to urban areas are assumed to have informal support networks that can alleviate poverty and exclusion when institutional support fails. The incidence and intensity of food poverty are presumed to be lessened by proximity to food production sites and land ownership. In this article, we aim to analyse how living in an intermediate area shapes the experience of food poverty. We draw on qualitative case studies of low-income families living in between a predominantly rural and a predominantly urban territory in Portugal, which has been through a process of restructuring of its rural territory since the second half of the 20th century. Paying attention to the specificities of this intermediate context, including the availability of formal support, we will investigate to what extent informal support networks alleviate food poverty for these families. Our discussion adds to the scientific debate on food poverty and its links to social networks in intermediate areas previously embedded in predominantly rural territories. We also discuss the highly gendered nature of informal support and its significance for women enduring food poverty.

中文翻译：

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不断变化的葡萄牙农村地区的粮食贫困和非正式网络支持

“乡村”的不同表现形式在当代葡萄牙共存，从田园诗般的描绘到空虚和孤独的描绘。假设靠近城市地区的农村环境具有非正式的支持网​​络，可以在机构支持失败时减轻贫困和排斥。据推测，靠近粮食生产地点和土地所有权会降低粮食贫困的发生率和严重程度。在本文中，我们旨在分析生活在中间地区如何影响食物贫困的经历。我们借鉴了生活在葡萄牙以农村和以城市为主的地区之间的低收入家庭的定性案例研究，自 20 世纪下半叶以来，葡萄牙一直在进行农村地区的重组。关注这种中间背景的特殊性，包括正式支持的可用性，我们将调查非正式支持网络在多大程度上减轻了这些家庭的粮食贫困。我们的讨论增加了关于粮食贫困及其与以前主要位于农村地区的中间地区的社会网络的联系的科学辩论。我们还讨论了非正式支持的高度性别化性质及其对妇女忍受粮食贫困的意义。