Food environments as everyday governance: Youth-vendor practices in Addis Ababa and Butajira, Ethiopia

Abstract Food environments (FEs) are central to debates on food systems transformation but are often conceptualized as contextual determinants of individual choice. This study reconceptualizes FEs as dynamic, relational configurations co-produced through everyday interactions, focusing on youth consumption and food vendors’ selling practices in Addis Ababa and Butajira, Ethiopia. Drawing on Social Practice Theories (SPT) and Lived Experience Research (LER), we combine photo-journals, ethnographic observations, and semi-structured interviews with youth and vendors. Findings show that, through their everyday practices, they actively co-construct FEs and enact informal governance: youth navigate tensions between socializing, nourishment, and abstinence, while vendors shape these spaces through care, credit, and daily negotiations of hygiene and moral responsibility. These dynamics reveal FEs as negotiated and constantly evolving rather than fixed contexts. In rapidly urbanizing Ethiopian contexts and comparable low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings, the informal governance performed by youth and vendors offers critical insights into how food system transformations can be pursued from the ground up.