Estrategias para acceder a los alimentos en hogares con adultos mayores de comunidades rurales del Estado de México

Introduction: In rural areas of Mexico, food access strategies are developed within the context of poverty and social inequalities. The reconstruction of these strategies among older persons is crucial for the understanding of how traditional and market economies help shaping food security in this population group. Objective: To identify food access strategies in older persons from three rural communities of the State of Mexico. Methods: Food access experiences in the study subjects were explored through semi-structured interview. The sample size was determined through theoretical saturation and data analysis was carried out employing grounded theory. Results: The collective construction of food access strategies emerges from commercial valorization processes. The study subjects are aware of the importance of selling their own labor power during old age; however, most livelihoods in their communities are built upon both traditional and precarious economy schemes. Conclusions: Despite the capacity of older persons to develop partially successful strategies to access food, old-age food insecurity prevails as a result of abandonment, social disapproval and lack of assistance from the government, among other reasons.