Abstract

Pleasure and pressure are two sides of the same coin when it comes to the unpaid care economy. Food is the lens through which we examine the Janus-faced character of care during the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on qualitative empirical findings, we argue that time is crucial to whether people experience ambivalence, joy or constraints in providing food for the self, the family and the wider community. In Berlin, Germany, the pandemic lockdown and closing of schools and childcare facilities led to an increase of time and energy spent on care work in the household. This care work has remained feminized. Women are at the forefront of organizing daily routines and inventing new strategies to manage time such as increased online shopping, intensified planning of errands, cooking and enjoying meals together, or becoming involved in local food networks. The altered temporal rhythms during the pandemic offer potential for the revaluation of care and for organizing care as a shared responsibility, however it remains questionable how this reorganization will evolve in the long run. For the future, the economic study of food must finally include caring practices in its valuation since they are the backbone of individual and societal well-being and demand considerable time, especially from women.

摘要

就无偿护理经济而言，快乐和压力是同一枚硬币的两个方面。在 Covid-19 大流行期间，食物是我们审视两面性护理特征的镜头。基于定性的实证研究结果，我们认为时间对于人们在为自己、家庭和更广泛的社区提供食物时是否会经历矛盾、快乐或限制是至关重要的。在德国柏林，大流行的封锁以及学校和托儿设施的关闭导致花在家庭护理工作上的时间和精力增加。这项护理工作仍然女性化。女性处于组织日常生活和发明新策略来管理时间的最前沿，例如增加网上购物、加强跑腿计划、一起做饭和享用美食，或参与当地食品网络。大流行期间改变的时间节律为重新评估护理和将护理组织为共同责任提供了潜力，但从长远来看，这种重组将如何演变仍然值得怀疑。未来，对食物的经济研究最终必须在其估值中包括关怀实践，因为它们是个人和社会福祉的支柱，需要大量时间，尤其是女性。