Mapping the uneven geography of food poverty in urban and rural areas: a territorial analysis within the metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

Abstract In Italy, food poverty represents one of the various forms of inequality characterizing both urban and rural contexts, often caused by economic difficulties in accessing food. In the city of Rome, the phenomenon manifests itself on different levels, caused by territorial socioeconomic inequalities, mostly affecting its eastern neighbourhoods. Aiming at understanding how food poverty is articulated differently in urban and rural contexts and which actions exist for countering it, this paper presents the case of the Metropolitan city of Rome to understand and map the food aid considering the geographic-spatial dimension. The study, undertaken by the Observatory on Food Insecurity and Poverty (OIPA) is based on a quantitative analysis of 2023 data coming from the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), applying three indexes developed by OIPA: Food Aid Index, Density of Food Aid Organizations Index and Intervention Diversification Index. Applying a spatially explicit composite index approach to food aid in Italy, the analysis allows for a multidimensional understanding of territorial disparities, suggesting targeted interventions for more sustainable access to services and opening horizons for further research on the determinants of food insecurity, offering a replicable framework for policymakers to spatially target interventions.