Conceptualising food environments as social activity spaces: Insights from lived experience research in Thailand and Laos

The study of food environments helps the understanding of food and nutrition insecurity, but its static, quantitative and physical focus requires complementary research through people's “lived experiences.” Through exploratory qualitative and participatory research, we aimed to capture communities' views of food environments, how they navigate these spaces, and what constitutes inequitable exclusion therein. We conducted participatory mapping and focus group discussions with 90 participants across 16 rural and peri-urban communities in northern Thailand and northern Lao PDR between November 2022 and February 2023. The inductive qualitative analysis resulted in four key themes: i) Diverse and dynamic foodscapes require careful study for dietary diversity assessments; ii) The food environment contains strong relational elements and varied experiences across gender and ethnic groups; iii) Food security had important local expressions of food sovereignty and food solidarity; and iv) Food-related behaviour was deeply embedded in a broader livelihood and human insecurity context. We link these themes to the concept of social and physical “activity spaces,” advancing food environment research towards lived experiences, behavioural dynamics, and invisible forms of exclusion. This approach highlights the limitations of standardised dietary diversity measures; and it can enable research and interventions that are sensitive to local realities and the broader human security context. • We capture communities' views of, experience in, and exclusion from food environments through qualitative participatory research. • Qualitative analysis finds diverse foodscapes, relational elements, local expressions of food security, and related experiences of human insecurity. • Social and physical “activity spaces” can help reframe research towards lived experiences, behavioural dynamics, and invisible forms of exclusion. • We call for grounded dietary diversity assessments and food environment research that is sensitive to local realities and human security contexts.