The social production of the food environment: a mixed-methods analysis of the unequal distribution of capitals and competencies in a Latin American metropolis.

Introduction: Food-environment models often privilege structural determinants and under-specify how eating practices and agency participate in (re)producing environments. This study analyzes, through a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, how social eating practices are shaped by food environments and, in turn, contribute to their differential configuration across two districts of contrasting socioeconomic status. It proposes a theoretical framework that articulates Bourdieu's praxeology with Shove's theory of practices, conceptualizing food environments as social fields in which capitals are contested, and meanings, materials, and competencies are stabilized. Methods: Through a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the NEMS-P-Ch survey was administered to 785 adults, and eleven focus groups were conducted in two districts of contrasting socioeconomic status (SES) within a major Latin American metropolis. Results: In low-SES districts, provisioning practices center on farmers' markets and local shops, mobilizing social capital and budget-maximizing strategies to navigate material scarcity. Conversely, high-SES practices are dominated by supermarkets and digital platforms, guided by time efficiency and taste as markers of distinction. Discussion: The food environment is both a producer and a product of daily practices, which configure differentiated infrastructures based on the agents' trajectories and available capitals. Public policies must move beyond isolated individual and structural approaches, integrating the complexity of social practices to effectively address the persistent structural inequalities of urban food systems.